Letters to the Editor


Says ‘Pay as You Throw’ Just One of Many Ideas
Editor,
On Page 5 of the June 17 edition, there's an article that states "Council Adopts 'Pay Per Throw' as Policy."
Please note that this is inaccurate!
At its June 14 meeting, the City council adopted, via resolution, a Solid Waste Management Plan for the City of Falls Church--not specifically a "Pay-As-You-Throw" (PAYT) System. PAYT is just one of the many steps that can be considered in the comprehensive Solid Waste Management Plan. This component is not a definite, so there's no reason for our citizens to think "the sky is falling."
Since every issue has another side, please consider this:
A portion of the City's population lives in multi-unit residences and doesn't receive City trash collection. For example, in my condominium, each unit owner pays City Real Estate Taxes (which includes such services as trash pick-up). But, the Unit Owners Association is required to contract with a private refuse company--and this charge is reflected in our monthly assessment (condo fee). In short, we pay twice.
"Pay-As-You-Throw" is simply an attempt to: a) increase awareness of the costs involved with the disposal of our waste and b) provide a more equitable distribution of these charges.
I'd greatly appreciate your including this in the next issue of the FCNP. Keep up the good work.
Logorico
Falls Church

(Ed. Note - We stand by our characterization. The Council voted to adopt a formal policy document mandated by the Commonwealth of Virginia that featured and included a recommendation to adopt ‘pay as you throw.’)

How About ‘Pay As You Read,’ Or ‘Procreate’?
Editor,
I was excited to see that the City Council has adopted a "pay-per-throw" policy under its solid waste management plan. Under this plan residence will pay for each bag of trash they "throw out". Now that we have this policy for our trash we must consider where else the city can apply a pay as you go concept. Two ideas quickly come to mind.
The library could have a pay-as-you-read policy. Under such a policy the library could charge users for each book they read, or to better assure equity, the library could charge by the page or word. This is fair because children's books are usually smaller than adult books. Thus children would not have to subsidize adult readers.
City school taxes could be set up on a pay-as-you-procreate basis. Citizens without school age children would not have to support school services that they do not use and parents would pay proportionately more for each of their school-aged children. Not only would this be equitable on a pay-as-you-go basis but it may also reduce school overcrowding. Parents could limit the size of their family to avoid paying school taxes.
With these two ideas as a start, I recommend a Council-sponsored commission be created to identify additional pay-as-you-go ideas. However, I believe that the commission should be prohibited from addressing any societal benefits that maybe derived from a taxpayer-supported library, school system, trash collection, etc. Considering societal benefits would surely just confuse the Council's exiting "pay-per-throw" policy.
Jeffrey Heil
Falls Church
F.C. Citizens’ Generosity at Lemonade Stand
Editor,
Last week the Falls Church community displayed its remarkable generosity and compassion by supporting "Alex's Lemonade Stand," both at Stacy's Coffee Shop and Giant Food. Together our two stands raised more than $3500 for pediatric cancer research.
But money alone does not tell the whole story. Behind the scenes were families who made a special effort to bring children to the sites, kids making signs and volunteering to serve lemonade, and the Falls Church business community helping in every way.
Our stand at Stacy's Coffee Shop was an excellent example of the little things that make Falls Church such a special place to live. Stacy committed her location to the cause - even before her shop opened in April. Brown's Hardware helped us nail and secure our homemade signs. The folks at Kendall's Bakery made sure flyers were available at the Farmer's Market.
Applebee's restaurant stored enough lemonade (donated by its supplier, Maine's Distributor) in its limited refrigerator space to quench an army's thirst, and Quik Copy (S.A.I.D.) patiently redesigned our homemade flyer. Lederer's Sound provided music. Economy Party and Harris Teeter were extremely helpful, and the Lion's Club was waiting with a generous donation when we opened. Throughout town, shop owners welcomed our fliers in their windows.
Nationwide, children raised nearly $400,000 for the cause on June 12, helping 8-year old Alex Scott toward her goal of raising $1 million this year. Falls Church can be proud of the significant contribution our community made towards this effort.
Sarah Flanagan, Ellen, Jack, Sam & Steve Selby
Falls Church