May 12th, 2025 by WCBC Radio

Until Lee Fiedler became Mayor of Cumberland in the year 2000, the city’s trash collection was handled internally rather than through a contractor. Rates for collection were included in property taxes. Former council member Harvey May would like to see a return to that – he addressed the city council, saying the trash rates are unfair…

   

“It hurts the senior citizens more than anybody else, and we have a lot of them here in Cumberland because everybody’s paying the same trash fee. And what’s happening – the senior citizens that are here, they’re subsidizing everybody else’s garbage.”

Mayor Ray Morriss tells WCBC the flat trash rate is most likely more fair than the property tax surcharge because of housing values and the number of people living in a building…

  

“You may have a rental building, say it appraises for $250,000, has four apartments in it. Versus a homeowner, could be a retired homeowner, it’s just him and his wife, and his house appraises for the same $250,000. So he is actually paying more per person.”