Trash collection services in Braintree used to be covered by property taxes, but for a few years now, residents have had to pay an annual fee for the same services. From a January 6 article in the Boston Globe, by Brian R. Ballou:
The town has billed residents annually for garbage pick-up since 2003. But many have fallen behind on the $180 payments, partly because it may have taken time for some residents to get used to paying separately for the service, which had been covered by their property taxes, officials said. This year, some 254 households in the town are delinquent. …
Charles Ryan, the Board of Selectmen‘s chairman, said, "The town had a real bad problem before [Braintree Department of Public Works director] Thomas [Whalen] took over. Before, we were hundreds of thousands of dollars behind in collecting trash fees. Since then, we’ve met the budget requirements. Is this the way I would do it? No, but we gave him a job to do and he’s doing it."
What’s Whalen doing to collect the $49,000 in delinquent trash fees for the current fiscal year? He’s resorting to an old-fashioned New England tradition, what Ballou calls "public humiliation." From the article:
Public works employees have stenciled a white circle with the letters NTS—No Trash Service—on the pavement in front of three homes with long-overdue bills, and are threatening to do it at more.
With only three homes stenciled so far, the example has apparently been highly motivational for those who are a bit behind on their payments to avoid the branding. This way, trash haulers don’t have to refer to a list. If someone is sorely delinquent in paying for their service, they really don’t get pick-up.
Denying the services can bring other problems—like trash piling up. In Braintree, for example, one of the three stenciled houses has actually been vacant for a year or so; otherwise the trash not picked up might have been a terrible nuisance.
