I read with great interest the article regarding the garbage issue in Sayreville and the opinions voiced by Barbara Kilcomons at a recent Borough Council meeting (“Resident Asks Borough to Address Garbage Issue,” Suburban, Sept. 16).
Ms. Kilcomons made some excellent points.
It seems that Sayreville is becoming a free-for-all for those who do not care, whether it be residents, landlords, business owners, borough employees or politicians.
I, also, have noticed the ongoing demise of town sanitation, but it extends far beyond garbage pickup by the sanitation workers. There are many residents who feel that they no longer need to mow grass, and there are landlords who collect hefty rental payments but do nothing to keep up the property they own. Many local businesses make their living off Sayreville residents but are allowed to degrade the town by not keeping their storefronts clean, weeded or mowed. We see heavy pickup piled in the streets a week before the scheduled pickup is due; recyclable containers that are overflowing beyond capacity, spilling onto the roadways; wild dogs running in the streets; cars parking on muddy front lawns and main pedestrian sidewalks; advertisers allowed to litter the streets with circulars that never made it to the lawn or doorstep; and litter, grass, dirt and debris lining the gutters and drains of the main roads, never to see a sweeper again because the county no longer sweeps its roads and neither will Sayreville.
The problem is multifaceted, and so is the solution. Educating the public on local ordinances by way of Sayreville cable TV, sweeping the main roads on a monthly basis, establishing a volunteer committee to monitor excessive abuse of ordinances with suggestions for corrective action, and changing some protocols that probably have not been changed in the last 50 years to make better and more efficient use of Sayreville manpower, are just a few suggestions.
Of course, I can only hope that those offenders causing the problem in the first place will change their bad habits, but that is not likely without any enforcement from the powers that be.
The high amount of infractions would indeed make one believe that there are those, whether it be tax-paid employees or elected officials, who may not be doing their job. I don’t think that the working taxpayers of Sayreville want to hear about a shortage of manpower in the borough. Most of the American working force is being asked to do more for less today, including less salary and benefits than a borough employee.
What are ordinances called that are not being enforced? The answer? Excuses, excuses, excuses. Its seems that the zoning officer, the code enforcement officer, animal control officer, sanitation director, business administrator and elected officials have become masters at making excuses as to why something cannot be done. Of course, making excuses is much easier than finding solutions, which is most probably the bottom line as to why little is accomplished.
Focusing that same effort and energy on the positive rather than the negative might be a good place to start resolving some of the problems that affect the quality of life in our town.
Sydney Hanover is a resident of Sayreville.
Sydney Hanover
Guest Column