Village Weighs Privatizing Garbage Collection As Public Feedback Emerges, Officials Cite Potential Savings And Expanded Service

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Village of Pleasant Prairie
(File Photo by Kevin Mathewson, Kenosha County Eye)

PLEASANT PRAIRIE, Wis. — Village officials are evaluating whether to privatize residential garbage and recycling collection, a proposal that could affect several village employees and change how services are delivered, but no final decision has been made.

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  1. Oh no. They used to have a privatized before. They would miss my block all the time. Our garbage pickup was on Fridays We can never get a hold of anybody till Monday. Then the village would send pickup trucks to pick up the garbage. Crazy
    I’m all for saving money but save me money does not mean cutting services and that means cutting the service.

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  2. Take a fully functional operation and fuk it up. Pleasant Prairie Public Works from my perspective over 26 years as a resident is a department that works great. Reliable, dependable you can count on them. From plowing, garbage, leaf pickup and much more. One of the Crown Jewels of Pleasant Prairie. Does everything always have to get ruined???

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  3. Lowest cost is not the solution to every project. The present system works excellent and is reliable. When I first moved to Pleasant Prairie an independent contractor had the pick up business. I remember numerous missed pick ups. Stay with what works

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  4. Pleasant Prairie Public Works has been one of the most reliable functions in my 26 years as a resident here. I’ll take this opportunity to say all the folks doing the actual work from the phone to the work have been outstanding. As a resident I’m proud of these folks.

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    1. Agreed so much. We moved here 15 years ago, and all of our interactions with Public Works have been fantastic – all the employees are so helpful and friendly. I’m sincerely excited about our trash pickup system in particular. Which maybe sounds a bit silly but everything about it is just NICE. We have lovely big garbage cans with wheels. The garbage has always been picked up, every week, on time. Once, our garbage can got blown into the ditch overnight and I left it there in the morning because I was running late for work. I figured I’d just miss the week’s pickup, and try again next week. Instead, the garbage collector actually went down into the ditch and fished out the can to empty it. That’s still beyond my wildest expectations.
      I’ve lived in places with private trash pickup previously, and it seemed they were constantly looking for an excuse to not collect the garbage, and it was really getting a bit stressful wondering if THIS time the trash had been picked up, or if I’d hauled the trash can down the driveway for nothing, again. The Pleasant Prairie garbage collection has been a wonderful contrast.

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  5. Lots of municipalities go through this. Ultimately they are not going to privatize. It’s mainly a grandstanding thing that they do to show that they are trying to save money.

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  6. The charge per month for this private service would go up 4% every year for each resident. It will not remain at 21.50 for very long.

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    1. I agree. I have been to many village board meetings in the last 3 years. One board member in particular, makes it seem very clear he doesn’t like the new public works director.

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  7. The current solid waste staff would not be hired on immediately to the private company. They would have to apply & they would be taking a pay cut and thats IF they get the job. The only way they would make the same wage as they do now is with a substantial amount of overtime during the year.

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    1. Possible pay cut. I’m tired of paying too much for the service and think privatizing it is a great solution. We don’t have to pay for the trucks, repairs, parts, down time, pay, workers comp (and it’s fraud), and if the service sucks we can pick a different company.

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      1. It’s a CONTRACT. Therefore you’d be stuck paying more until the contract is up. Residents wouldn’t be able to just “pick a different company”

      2. You cant just “pick a different company” that would be up to the village board AGAIN to choose that company for you. We pay 23.50 or 21.50 a month (a little over $5 a week). I think many of us can agree that that isnt a bad price especially for the service they provide. Once the village privatizes this there is no going back.

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  8. By every resident.
    Not just who shows up at the polls !

    Every Resident should have to come in and say yeah or nay. All 100% of them.
    And it should be 70% to change not 51-49

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        1. I remember when pleasant prairie went away from privatization garbage. Onyx at the time went on strike and didn’t pick up our garbage. The board voted to do it in house so we weren’t at the mercy of the garbage union. Which I thought was a great idea. Now we’re going back to this after pleasant prairie public works has all the staff, trucks, equipment…? Doesn’t make sense to go back now.

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  9. Here are some truths that some people won’t like to hear.

    First, John Steinbrink, jr., did things he should not have done. He was fired, prosecuted and jailed as a result. However, he was far more competent and the work was done better when he was running the show. I lose more sleep over my street not being plowed or the garbage collection missed than some Menards rebates. I get that this won’t sit well with some people but the truth isn’t always what you want to hear.

    Second, there is still better service and more accountability than when it was privately done. These private contracts are smoke and mirrors and bait and switch. You get a lowball introductory price, abandon the infrastructure taxpayers invested in and then WHAM!!!!!!!! The private operator starts jacking up the rates and has you by the balls.

    Third, Pleasant Prairie touts lower taxes than the city but that’s not entirely accurate because city residents don’t pay extra for garbage collection. A tax is a tax is a tax no matter how it’s labeled.

    Fourth, the Good ole Boys had their issues. We all know that. But The Gang That Can’t Shoot Straight could be worse.

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    1. I completely agree with the better service than when it is privatized. But what i do not agree with is that John Steinbrink was running the show better. The streets were plowed “more often” or “up to your standards” because the crew would be on the route 36+ hours with no sleep. And to me, id rather have a slower commute to where ever i have to be due to the roads not being plowed quick than have to worry about a delirious plow driver harming me or someone else on the roads.
      In my opinion, if someone isnt worried about taking something as small as rebates what else is he willing to take?

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      1. Yeah people need to learn to drive safer. Put the cell phone down. Drive slower. I hate seeing all that salt being put down and thinking how bad this is for the environment and rusting our vehicles out. Plus it seems like we haven’t had as much snow as we did 5+ years ago. So we don’t see the plows out as much

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        1. This is 100 percent factual about the cover up with the woman who was killed. Her name was Yvonne Wheeler. Say her name John Jr.

          1. That was a horrible incident. The snow plow literally struck her. That was bad enough. And apparently the ER people missed some things.

            1. They took her to Aurora and the ER staff let her internally bleed to death. They didn’t just “miss some things”. She only had a heart monitor on her finger. No IV. NOTHING. Then she went into cardiac arrest and they gave her something that opened all of her blood vessels and she immediately died.
              You want to talk about truths in regard to that incompetent, crooked, criminal Steinbrink? Here’s some truths:
              The truck hit her, knocked her to the ground, ran over her, put the truck into drive and ran over her AGAIN, CRUSHING her pelvis, hips, and thighs.
              Had that piece of garbage Steinbrink done his job -ensured employees weren’t over worked, and vehicles/equipment were in proper working order – my mother might still be alive. Instead, she died at 51 leaving behind 2 daughters and 2 granddaughters. She will never meet her other granddaughter, grandson, great granddaughter, or my wonderful husband. She wasn’t there to see those grand children graduate high school and attend college, or me graduate with a B.A. and then an M.A.. She wasn’t there when I met and married husband. There’s so many other things in our lives that she missed – all because one individual cut corners to try and save a buck.

          2. Evonne. Evonne Wheeler. My mother hated when people would spell her name with a “Y” 😂 So seeing this made me giggle a bit.

        1. Yeah he was one of the members who started up the garbage program 20 years ago when a lot of people were against it. Now he wants to shut it down after pleasant prairie made this huge investment to get involved in the garbage program. Truly shows this guy doesn’t have the best interest of the taxpayers in mind.

          1. Nobody said he’s a saint or that he should get his job back. But if he was bad then his replacement should be better.

  10. Could this possibly be a union issue? I know its Illinoying but when I was in Gurnee to work, there were two choices. Waste mngmnt or Waste mngmnt and you paid them what they required. When my work contacted the city to discuss, they were told that is the choice they get unfortunately. Union contracts and padded pockets seemed to be the reasoning.

    Dont know if that’s the case in PP but seems odd.

  11. It’s a joke. Somers. Has to be on your driveway and you have to have a permit. DUMB!!!! then they prefer you use johns disposal. Wonder why?

  12. Someone’s going to kick back to privatize… People pay attention where the money goes. Follow the money as they say.

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  13. The next board meeting this coming Monday the 9th, 6PM, a request for proposals will be put forth for this privatization. I encourage anyone interested to attend.

    I think it should be shelved until the people of PP can be properly notified.

    Transparency has always been a huge problem in PP

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“Homeless Steak Guy” Arrested Again One Day After No-Cash Bail Release — Kellum Gives Him Another No-Cash Bail

Richard J. Vannucci, 50, of Kenosha(Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office) KENOSHA, Wis. — Richard J. Vannucci, the homeless 50-year-old Kenosha man dubbed the “Homeless Steak Guy” after police say he started a three-foot fire outside the Kenosha Public Library to cook a steak, was arrested again just one day after Court Commissioner Daniel “Catch & Release” Kellum released him on no-cash bail. On Monday,

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Kenosha Man Accused Of Threatening To Slit Mother’s Throat Released On No-Cash Bail By ‘Catch & Release’ Kellum

Caleb J. Blackley, 35, of Kenosha(Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office) KENOSHA, Wis. — A 35-year-old Kenosha man accused of threatening his mother and allegedly telling her to do something to him so he could “slit her throat” was released Monday on a $500 no-cash bail by Court Commissioner Daniel “Catch & Release” Kellum. Caleb J. Blackley, 35, of Kenosha, is charged with two counts

Former Public Defender Mackenzie Renner Misses Two Court Hearings In One Day As Another Client’s Family Says She’s Been Unreachable For Weeks

KENOSHA, Wis. — Former public defender Mackenzie Renner failed to appear for two Kenosha County court hearings involving the same client on September 28, while the family of an entirely different Renner client facing serious felony charges says they have been unable to reach the attorney for weeks. That client, a 19-year-old, has been jailed since at least May 29, and his mother

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Resident, Firefighter Injured In Late-Night Kenosha Apartment Fire; Flames Engulf Staircase As Residents Evacuate

Shady Lawn Apartments, 1615 60th St. Structure Fire Driday Evening(Photo by Incident Response) KENOSHA, Wis. — One resident was transported to a hospital for evaluation and a Kenosha firefighter suffered a very minor injury after a working fire broke out Friday night at Shady Lawn Apartments, 1615 60th St., prompting a large emergency response as residents fled the three-story apartment building. Scott Krueger

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