Skip to content
The Archive of The Carrboro Citizen
Menu
  • Home
  • News
  • Community
  • Schools
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Obituaries
  • Sports
  • Mill
  • Flora
  • Print Archive
  • About
Menu

Budget cuts disproportionately affect Bingham residents access to services

Posted on August 28, 2009 by Staff

By Kathleen and Carl Hoffmann

In order to address budget cuts and shrink costs, the Orange County Board of Commissioners and staff plan to reduce services at solid waste convenience centers. At four of the five convenience centers, they will cut hours and operations from six days to four days a week. Unfortunately, the fifth convenience center, Bradshaw Quarry in southwest Orange County, will close on September 20.

More than 100 people showed up for the Aug. 18 commissioners meeting with impassioned pleas to keep the Bradshaw Quarry Center open. Rather than closing, we asked for cuts similar to those at the other county convenience centers. We even proposed reducing our center services to just the essential trash and recycling in order to keep the center open two or three days a week, including a Saturday or Sunday.

When the proposed budget is actually parsed, closing the center is estimated to save the county only about $20,000 in FY2009-10. This estimated savings ignores the county’s additional cost in cleaning up the inevitable roadside dumping and the fire department’s concerns for the dangers associated with increased trash burning.

The costs that will be shifted to Bingham township residents are much higher than the $20,000 savings. If the center closes, Bingham residents will have to drive an additional 20 to 35 miles to dump their trash and recycling. That’s several gallons of gas every week, which translates to roughly $300 to $500 a year for Bingham households. Completely closing Bradshaw Quarry is a disproportionate burden. It asks a small group of citizens to underwrite the county’s budget cuts at a time when all citizens face personal fiscal constraints.

At the Aug. 18 meeting, the group questioned the county’s rationale. We are told we are being closed because we have the fewest customers and lowest waste volume. Rural southwest Orange County, with its miles of beautiful fields, woods and large farms, naturally has a low population density. Our density is further reduced by the Cane Creek Reservoir, with watershed restrictions requiring minimum 2-acre and 5-acre land parcels.

With fewer people, we have little access to private garbage or recycling services. We depend on BQCC as our primary resource for waste disposal.

The county says they are closing Bradshaw Quarry because they can’t expand it to allow room for residents to drop off yard waste. Do the commissioners realize that for this rural community, yard waste is firewood, habitat and compost? Expansion is unwarranted, unnecessary and unasked for.

The speakers on Tuesday did not ask the commissioners to shift the cost to other parts of our community. They did not ask to cut funds from libraries, human services or the commissioners access to lifetime health benefits. They only asked to be treated like citizens whose needs are respected. They understand the need for budget cuts and are willing to do their fair share by cheerfully accepting reduced hours and services at Bradshaw Quarry.

On Aug. 18, we were proud to sit among our neighbors who were informed and articulate. After offering practical and creative alternatives to closing Bradshaw Quarry, the commissioners instructed residents to direct further correspondence to the interim county manager and went on with their meeting. It was as if to say, “The board of county commissioners is too busy to address your concerns and has no interest in hearing any more about your problems with trash.”

For our tax dollars and recycling fees, Bingham residents simply want to continue our access to a small, nearby facility to safely dispose of trash and recycling. Maybe the board should start listening to this important and underserved community who votes and pays taxes. By reconsidering the decision to close Bradshaw Quarry, this board can show that rural residents count, too.

The Hoffmanns live on Mebane Oaks Road.

Web Archive

© 2025 The Archive of The Carrboro Citizen | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme