JAY — Residents may face higher costs for trash and recycling pickup after the Jay Select Board voted Monday to send a proposed contract to the Budget Committee and voters.
The Budget Committee is expected to review the proposal. If it recommends that the Select Board place it on the warrant for the annual town meeting, typically held in April, voters will decide. The proposal would take effect July 1.
The town sought new trash proposals after months of complaints that garbage and recycling were missed, collected days late or torn apart by wildlife and scattered along roads.
Riverside Disposal and Recycling of Chelsea submitted the lowest bid at $210,000 for the first year. The contract calls for annual increases of about 1.25 percent, bringing the cost to $222,886.35 by June 30, 2031.
The town’s current contractor, Archie’s Inc. of Mexico, is being paid $154,511 for the year ending June 30, 2026. Riverside’s proposal represents an increase of $54,489, or 36 percent.
In addition to pickup charges, the town pays a tipping fee when trash and recycling are hauled to the dump. The fee is based on tonnage.
In moving to advance the proposal, Selectwoman Lee Ann Dalessandro said, “Archie’s isn’t picking up the recycling.” The board approved the motion unanimously.
Dalessandro’s complaint has been echoed by residents of Jay and other towns that contract with Archie’s. On Aug. 28, James Thornton of Jay posted online, “It appears Archie’s continues to be consistently inconsistent.”
About the same time, Karin Kilbreth posted, “I went down a back road (i)n Jay the other day and something had gotten into the trash sitting out on the ground and it was scattered all over the yards, etc.”
Jason Cuthbertson of Jay may have summed up in a post what other residents of the town have said: “It’s time the town revisits this contract and its residents being forced to pay for it. … We’re being forced to pay for a service that hasn’t held up its end (of the contract).”
In the meantime, Archie’s is set to return next week to an earlier pickup schedule. Beginning Wednesday, it will collect both trash and recycling Wednesday and Thursday. For several months, trash was picked up both days, but recycling only Thursday.
Riverside serves nearby towns, including Fayette, Livermore Falls and Turner. Archie’s serves Farmington, Jay, Mexico and New Sharon, among others. Residents in Livermore Falls, New Sharon, Rumford and other towns have posted complaints online.
Along with the proposed trash contract, the Select Board took the first step Monday toward freezing rent increases in mobile home parks, learned of savings from buying used State Police cruisers and got an initial look at possible firefighter wage increases in 2026.
Police Chief Joseph Sage updated the board on his department’s purchase of used State Police cruisers through the state’s salvage program. He said the town paid $3,000 apiece for four cruisers that had been driven between 64,000 and 145,000 miles each.
The cruisers all need minor repairs and alterations, he said. Jay must install cages, radios and laptop computers. After the work is completed, the average cost will be about $12,000 per vehicle.
Sage noted that Wilton recently bought a new police cruiser that will cost $71,000 once it is outfitted.
The used cruisers have the advantage of each having been driven by only one person, which “would provide accountability.” Sage said.
Jay’s current cruisers are driven by multiple officers. The department’s goal is to have one cruiser for each officer. Vehicles wear out less quickly when assigned to a single driver, he said.
Dalessandro agreed, saying, “That would work better.”
She made the motion, and the board then voted unanimously to take $34,000 from the capital account for repairs and alterations.
The board also got its first look at how the state’s automatic minimum wage increase is expected to affect Jay’s firefighters. The state minimum is set to increase in 2026 to $15.10 an hour, up 45 cents from $14.65.
Town Manager Shiloh LaFreniere gave board members a chart showing what a 45‑cent hourly raise would mean at each grade level for the town’s roughly 35 firefighters. Junior and probationary firefighters, for example, now earn $14.65 an hour and would receive the state increase for any time they are on the job.
Several firefighters receive added pay for special certifications, such as EMS and driver-operator. All officers except the chief, who receives a flat stipend, are paid hourly and also receive an annual stipend.
On Dalessandro’s motion, the board voted unanimously to adjust wages for all firefighters who are not officers. LaFreniere said she will prepare the pay scale for the 2026 budget.
The Select Board’s next meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 22, at the Town Office.
