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In May, Town Meeting voted to rewrite our bylaw to fundamentally change our trash/recycling program. This new bylaw will lead to new fees being imposed by the Select Board for trash collection.. This fee will serve as an additional “tax” on residents.
Immediately following the Town Meeting vote, over 1,700 Lexington residents signed a petition to call for a Special Election to overturn this decision. If you oppose everyday residents having to pay additional fees for trash collection, on Tuesday, June 16th, make sure to vote NO to trash fees.
Trash collection is a universal municipal service that every resident uses weekly. Our current system is a simple and efficient service provided by the Town. Under the new policy, everyone in Lexington will have their trash collection service fundamentally changed, and fees will be imposed.
Town Meeting voted to allow trash fees to move forward without a clear plan for how to implement them. In addition to costing residents more money, the new undefined system will create an undue hassle that we all will need to navigate on our own. Vote NO to keep trash simple.
In December, the Town passed a 14% tax increase to pay for a new $660 million Lexington High School. Despite the fact that the prices of gas and groceries are soaring, and residents voiced their concerns about rising costs, Town Meeting still voted to impose additional fees on everyday residents for trash collection.
Trash is not a "one size fits all" issue. Everyone manages their trash in their own way. Unfortunately, if approved by the Special Election, these trash fees will be regressive, and serve as an additional “tax” on residents. These fees will hurt seniors, the disabled community, and our low-income neighbors disproportionately. We should not add a new burden to taxpayers, and continue to price residents out of town.
For over 40 years, Lexington has provided simple and efficient curbside trash collection. However, this is not the first time Town Meeting tried to impose a fees on residents for trash collection.
In 2002, Town Meeting voted to change the exact same bylaw that our 2026 Annual Town Meeting just voted on. Back then, the bylaw change forced residents to pay additional fees for trash collection. After a wave of opposition to the fee-based policy, a similar Special Election was called to ask the voters to weigh in on trash fees. With a massive 53% voter turnout, the voters overwhelmingly rejected trash fees by a vote of nearly 2 to 1. Since then, Lexington residents have enjoyed the simple and efficient curbside trash collection system we use today.
That all is at risk if voters do not reject the Town Meeting vote by voting NO in the Special Election on Tuesday, June 16th.
The question on the ballot is simple. Do you have a problem with your current trash collection system? If no, VOTE NO on Tuesday, June 16th.
In order to overturn the vote of Town Meeting, and make sure trash fees do not get imposed on residents, BOTH of the following two (2) things need to happen: