The town of North Yarmouth was caught by surprise when it learned this summer that it is on the hook to pay roughly $17,000 for cameras on Casella waste trucks that will allow the town to continue using its pay-as-you-throw trash pickup program, now that the waste company has switched to an automated system.

Ultimately, the Select Board voted 3-2 to enter into an amended contract with Casella Waste Systems, but only after rowdy public input and robust debate at their most recent meeting on Aug. 6.

The cameras will be used with an AI-based monitoring system that the town is piloting at a cost of roughly $13,000 a year annually, an amount that voters already agreed to at the most recent town meeting in June. Originally, the town thought the cameras were included in the subscription.

“It is frustrating (that) we brought (this) through the town meeting, and now all of a sudden there is this additional cost,” said Select Board Chair Andrea Berry, who noted that even though the new cost was an unpleasant surprise, she thinks the change will ultimately save taxpayers money.

In the fiscal year 2024, North Yarmouth paid Casella $113,250 in hauling fees for weekly trash pickup and then an additional $195,196 in one-time costs to buy new garbage cans that Casella requires for automated collection. In FY25, North Yarmouth will pay $128,864 for their Casella trash service.

Under the automated system, there is no longer “rear load style service,” where someone physically collects trash and puts it in the truck, said Chris McHale, a market area manager at Casella, which is moving toward automation.

Automated trash pickup goes into effect this week in North Yarmouth, Town Manager Diane Barnes told The Forecaster.

The automated service creates a wrinkle for the pay-as-you-throw program, which the town adopted to encourage recycling. Residents have to buy designated orange bags from the town in order for their trash to be picked up. They are incentivized to recycle because recycling doesn’t require bags. The more they recycle the less they spend on orange bags, explained Barnes.

However, without a Casella worker physically handling the trash and checking that only orange bags are picked up, it’s hard to enforce the PAYT program. Hence the need for the camera system.

“It’s challenging because the driver doesn’t see what’s in the (can) until it’s already in the truck,” explained McHale, noting the town sought this pilot program to ensure compliance.

Casella has allowed the town to spread the $17,422 out over multiple years, though Barnes said she would prefer to pay the cost of the hardware all at once in year two of the four-year contract.

“I get that you want to make all these changes that (are) going to be good for the environment and good for the town,” said Mike Mallory at the recent meeting but “I fail to see how we’re saving money.”

“How are you going to expend money that was not actually approved at (the) town meeting? Where is that authority coming from?” asked Paul Whitmarsh, who failed to strike the $13,000 annual subscription from the town budget at the town meeting, according to meeting notes.

At one point during the Select Board meeting, members of the audience made comments without being invited to speak, with one person saying that the municipal body appeared poised to pass the motion “no matter what.” The comments prompted Berry to use a gavel to get the audience to quiet down.

Berry said that the town does have the authority to enter into the contract because the money for the cameras would go before voters at the next town meeting for approval – however, it’s not clear what would happen if voters reject that cost at the next meeting.

“I’m not sure what we would do at that time,” said Barnes in a follow-up call. “We would have to take (the money) from somewhere else.”