The Tuckahoe Village Board voted unanimously to approve a fee schedule for garbage pickup for village businesses at its March 1 meeting.

Unlike last month’s public hearing on the issue, which was attended by a number of incensed Tuckahoe business owners who had been sent a notice of the hearing by mail, no one from the community chose to speak at the continuation of the hearing on Monday night.

Tuckahoe Mayor John Fitzpatrick (D) attributed the lack of discussion to his belief that more business owners had discovered that the price they were being asked to pay was not insurmountable.

“I think when they saw the numbers, many businesses realized we weren’t being unreasonable,” said Fitzpatrick.

Although several business owners present at the February meeting had not yet received a fee schedule, which did not accompany the public hearing notice, several had said they planned to oppose the added fee “on principle,” arguing that they received no other benefits from their property taxes.

The fee schedule and accompanying definitions passed Monday night formed an amendment to the 2009 law governing “Collection, Garbage, Trash and Refuse.”
Fitzpatrick said that the fee schedule replaced a more complicated system, which charged for commercial trash pickup based upon dumpster sizes.

The current system places businesses into 10 classes based on their type and size. Monthly fees for garbage pickup range from $25 (for grooming businesses and small professional offices) up to $1,000 (for large senior living facilities and hotels).

A separate chart included in the law identifies businesses as small, medium or large, based upon number of tables (restaurants), occupants (senior living facilities), or square footage (retail, offices, manufacturing, etc.).