Change is good, especially if it comes with benefits.
Town employees who work at the landfill site are seeking changes to the hours and days of operation. The Landfill Committee took into consideration at its meeting on May 26 the concerns of those employees, and chief among those concerns is the fact employees want to spend more time with their families. Currently, the landfill is open from Wednesday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. However, the committee is looking to change the days of operation from Tuesday to Saturday. On Tuesdays, the landfill would be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. from October to March, and from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. from April to September. From Wednesday to Saturday, the hours of operating would be 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. year round. Being closed on a Sunday would allow workers to spend time with their families.
The extended hours during the summer months would allow users to dispose of any extra refuse that was collected during the two days the landfill is closed, which would especially come in handy for contractors.
It’s an issue that is cause for a great deal of debate around the entire County. A lot of people use the landfill on Sundays to dispose of their garbage. The local landfill has been open on Sundays for many years, and it seems to work well with ratepayers, many of whom have expressed opposition to the changes in hours.
No one likes to work Sundays. This is a day when many families make a concerted effort to spend quality time together. Sundays, in many people’s views, is a day to relax and unwind from the pressures of the work week. Being able to spend a leisurely afternoon with your family goes a long way in making you happy. You can’t put a price tag on a happy family.
That’s why the Town and County should really consider giving the proposed changes to the landfill hours a try. Good employees are hard to find, and employees willing to work at a landfill are likely even more difficult to find. Not everyone uses the landfill on a Sunday, and the proposed changes accommodate for extra hours on Tuesday for people who aren’t able to make it during regular business hours.
Several councillors were in favour of the changes, but instead voted to find more alternatives to the situation. Hopefully, they come to a conclusion that is best for all involved. Put yourself in the shoes of employees at the landfill site. Is it absolutely necessary to keep open the facility on a Sunday? If you were in the same situation, wouldn’t you like it if you were able to spend more time with your family?
This change doesn’t have to be written in stone, either. Try it out, and see if it works. It could always be changed again.
