Town of Dighton Solid Waste Committee Report
Problem Statement:
The Town of Dighton is a small community in Southern Massachusetts. They practice common New England-style town government where they have open town meeting yearly to decide on all matters about the town’s finances and governance. The town currently has a three-person board of selectmen and has its daily operations overseen by a Town Administrator. The town has multiple departments with mostly appointed department heads. They also have various committees. These committees vary as either appointed or elected seats. The one committee my project will focus on is the newly formed Solid Waste Committee.
The Solid Waste Committee was formed within this fiscal year. The formation came about after discovering that the town was potentially losing budget money due to the current in-place solid waste guidance. The first issue that was discovered was the town’s loss of revenue due to under charging for mattress removal. Most of the surrounding communities have an associated cost of removal at $35 to $50 dollars. The town of Dighton currently charges $15. This made the town government rethink how they are currently operating the program and where possible gaps could be closed in lost revenue each year. Additionally the town has had many complaints of the program not being user friendly or convenient for most residents. They are looking to create a data driven report with recommendations on best practices and changes that should be made. This committee has been tasked with finding internal data related to budgeting, spending, operational guidelines, and the ability of the solid waste program to meet the resident’s needs. While the committee has taken some steps, they are seeking guidance on creating literature that can be placed in official town by-laws and operational manuals.
Task
Theoretical Framework / Research Design:
The Town Administrator has asked that you work with the committee and create a working document it should be the foundation that committee will develop and make changes based upon for years to come.
