Adam Catlin

Gary Clements turned in his petition late last week that opposes the automated trash proposal endorsed by the city of Wellington.  He believes he has collected between 310-315 signatures, which will then go to be certified by the county election officer. It was not something he chose to do lightly.  He paid for the effort all himself.  With the narrow time frame he says he had to work with, he needed to get the ball rolling.”
He even missed out on going on a family vacation to stay home to work on the petition.  
According to City Manager Shane Shields, once those signatures are counted and are determined to be valid, the city council will determine if there will be a special election.  Shields also says there would be a period of 30-90 days to call an election.  During that time, the proposal would not be able to proceed.  
“The city government is not listening.”  Clements says, “A lot of people feel this way.”
City council member Jim Valentine, Clements feels, has been very supportive of the petition.  “He is approachable,” and best represents the people.  He has been the most vocal and passionate.  Clements also credits Joe Saria, who will be sworn in later this month, as having asked plenty of questions last month at a council meeting which lead to a postponement of the vote on the bond issue.  
Clements wonders why the city cannot just wait until one of the other bond issues gets paid off before adding yet another one.  He says that the new council needs to act and get the public educated on what this system would all entail.  
He would prefer the council wait until 2020 to act on this.  He says the city’s credit is maxed out.  “What if an emergency happens?”
Jeremy Jones, the Director of Public Works, says the sanitation fund is separate from the city debt.  It is considered an enterprise fund.  It does not come from levees or taxes.  He says the monthly rates and funds collected from the landfill would go towards paying off the debt accrued from the approval of the automated trash proposal.