A Change in Voting for NEKWMD

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Created on Wednesday, 13 April 2016 15:47

Written by Alexandra Conroy

LYNDON - The Northeast Kingdom Waste Management District discussed no longer using the Australian Ballot. Due to being five representatives short, the district was unable to vote. But the vote will be put on the agenda for the next NEKWMD meeting.

 Paul Tomasi, the Executive Director of NEK Waste Management says, "We've done it this way forever... if that doesn't change, that's fine. About half of our membership doesn't have any Australian Ballot initiative so that's why it's kind of contentious. Some say we should keep the vote with the people, others say it's a waste of time and resources... It's kind of a toss up."

Tomasi mentioned that without more representatives attending in the future, the amendment cannot pass. He also talked about the hopes of the Caledonia County being a part of the Northern Border Regional Commission.

The Northern Border Regional Commission is an agency formed by the Federal government to assist counties that border Canada with economic development projects. "It looks like out project would qualify," states Tomasi, "They would pay up to 8% of the projects, and up to $250,000. So it's a substantial amount of money and a great opportunity for us."

With the Commission, NEK Waste Management can improve efficiency and change the way they collect materials. With new machines, instead of sending out two workers to pick up materials in one town, they could send out one worker to multiple towns, and reduce labor costs.

Tomasi is hoping at least two thirds of the representatives will attend the future meetings.