Trash Talk in Manchester, State Budget Goodies for MBTS and Essex

The goal isn't to change just for the sake of change. Part of it is that we have to change, but we want to design a program that's reliable, financially sustainable, and tailored specifically for Manchester.”

This week, details on what local earmarks have come in from the final FY27 state budget and Essex and Manchester can expect money for infrastructure, food assistance, and a school district bump.  Also, Manchester residents learned more on Tuesday about big changes afoot with curbside waste collection, prompted by a strike and a big industry changes affecting many North Shore communities.  And, then, there’s softball at Sweeney.

Let’s get started.

Responders Taking it to Sweeney

We’ll start with something light.  This past weekend, Manchester’s Sweeney Park was the site of regional public safety softball tournament, drawing police, fire, and harbormaster departments from Danvers to Gloucester and Rockport for a light-hearted competition and perhaps a bit of trash talking in double elimination tournament play. 

The day was simply perfect.  Manchester showed up, with new Manchester Police Chief Mark McCoy at the mound.  Philip Cicala of the MBTS Fire Dept. was the team organizer.  Manchester Town Administrator Tony Barletta squeezed into the lineup, donning the team jersey after he was made a public safety official for the day by the team.  The big highlight came at 3 p.m. when none other than Todd Angilly, the Boston Bruins crooner whose voice is like a rich piece of velvet cake, showed up to entertain the crowd.  This was not Angilly’s first time entertaining the Manchester crowds.  He’s sung three times during the holidays for residents on the steps of Town Hall. 

Manchester’s Longterm Waste Collection Comes into Focus

With the first weeks of Manchester's new trash collection contract with Casella underway, Town Administrator Tony Barletta used Tuesday night's public forum to explain not only why Manchester switched vendors, but why residents should expect permanent changes to curbside collection.

Barletta reiterated that the decision to leave Republic Services after its five-year contract expired on June 30 ultimately centered on contract protections, not cost.  After last summer's three-month Republic strike, Manchester reviewed its contract alongside the 13 other affected communities and determined the town was among the most contractually vulnerable if another interruption happened.  

Republic rejected most of the town's contract revisions, pushing talks to just days before the agreement expired.  In the end, Manchester signed with Casella, accepting short-term disruption in exchange for stronger safeguards.

Barletta stressed that the transition to automated collection—in which specialized, industrial strength bins are mechanically emptied by robotic arm—was largely unavoidable.  He stressed that every proposal Manchester reviewed, including Republic's, required a move to automated pick up.  In fact, Republic proposed allowing the town to delay conversion, but only by accepting a monthly $15,000 surcharge until the switch occurred, plus additional truck rental fees.  

Casella instead required Manchester to complete the conversion by September as a condition of the new contract.

Much of Tuesday’s hearing focused on what the new collection system should look like.  Barletta recommended that each household receive a 35-gallon trash cart and a 65-gallon recycling bin (called a “cart” by the waste industry) with recycling collected every other week.  Right now, the plan is to allow residents to purchase additional carts, while seniors and residents with limited mobility could request a smaller recycling cart.  

Overflow recycling can still be brought free of charge to the transfer station.  The same is true for trash bagged in the same familiar orange bags that may be purchased at local retailers like Crosby’s Market or Sea Breeze Variety (a.k.a., Richdale).

Barletta repeatedly noted that Manchester is in a unique position compared with neighboring communities making the same transition. Unlike Beverly, Gloucester, North Reading, Hamilton, Wenham, Topsfield and Swampscott—all of which have adopted or are adopting automated collection—Manchester continues to operate a free municipal transfer station and provides curbside compost collection at no additional cost.  

Those two services, he said, give the town way more flexibility than most communities have during the transition.

Funding the new program remains one of the largest unanswered questions. Today, roughly 36 percent of the town's waste collection costs are paid through the sale of orange "pay-as-you-throw" bags, with the remaining 64 percent coming from the general fund.  Because automated collection will largely eliminate the orange bags, Barletta said the town must develop a replacement funding model that remains fair to residents while covering the lost revenue.  

The goal, he said, is to design a fee structure that costs most households roughly what they currently spend on orange bags each year.  The other goal?  Preserving options for residents who may not be good fit for automated pick up and maneuvering the new large, heavy “carts” that may present issues for senior citizens or those with smaller homes and limited space.

“My house isn't built for this,” said one resident on Tuesday.  “I use a small orange bag once a week and a paper tote, let's say, for the recycling. I can't drag these barrels from my home to the curb, especially in winter.  So, are you saying my only alternative would be to opt out and take the orange bag and the recycling myself?”

Mary Foley, a resident, asked what the difference in cost difference would be to taxpayers between Casella and Republic.  She also asked if the town would post the contract with Casella.  Barletta said the town would post the contract, but said cost analysis wasn’t possible because the “pay as you throw” orange bag format is fundamentally different than automated collection.  He reiterated that overall “before and after” cost was taken into account, with the idea that it wouldn’t differ dramatically.

Barletta said Casella is still working out the final transition schedule that will dictate what residents can expect as the town moves toward automated collection.  He said the town is also fine tuning the rollout details for the new bins, including researching options for a turn-in program to offer residents who may need to dispose of their old trash and recycling barrels.

Manchester’s free curbside compost pick up—which has an outsized impact on Manchester’s waste disposal cost because of its removal of heavy, costly food waste from the system—will remain.

State budget delivers $175K for Manchester priorities

Manchester and Essex will receive funding for several local priorities under the FY27 Massachusetts Budget, including earmarks for public safety, the planned Manchester senior center, a Chebacco Lake study and expanded regional food distribution.

Signed by Gov. Maura Healey on July 9, the $63.4 billion budget includes $175,000 in earmarks for Manchester and $100,000 for Essex, secured by Sen. Minority Leader Bruce Tarr and Rep. Dru Tarr.

Manchester's funding includes $75,000 toward the town's planned senior community center, $75,000 to help The Open Door expand its regional food distribution network, and $25,000 toward the purchase of a motorcycle for the Manchester Police Department.

The senior center appropriation will support the town's ongoing effort to renovate the former Masonic Hall into a permanent Community & Senior Center.  The funding is modest compared with the project's estimated $7 million cost, but every bit helps.

Essex received $25,000 to study Chebacco Lake and its watershed, along with $75,000 for the same Open Door food distribution initiative serving Essex and other North Shore communities.  According to “the Tarrs,” the transportation system will help deliver food directly to partner communities, improving access for seniors, families and residents facing transportation barriers while strengthening regional food security.

Beyond the earmarks, both communities will see increases in state formula aid.

Manchester Essex Regional School District will receive $3.68 million in Chapter 70 education aid, an increase of approximately $170,000 (4.8%), while Essex North Shore Agricultural & Technical School will receive $9.37 million, an increase of approximately $703,000 (8.1%).  Both towns share those school districts.

Manchester's unrestricted general government aid will increase 9.6% to $303,296, while Essex's unrestricted local aid will increase 6.3% to $323,850.

The budget also re-establishes something called the “Foundation Budget Review Commission,” to look at the Chapter 70 funding formula and recommend changes to better reflect enrollment trends, transportation costs, special education expenses and other factors affecting school districts.  This year, Bruce Tarr has been sanguine about the positive changes in apportionment to towns like Manchester and Essex from this group.  Stay tuned. 

The commission’s recommendations are expected by October 2028.