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What can seem like easy money earned by other people often takes on a whole new look once we learn more about their businesses. Steubenville officials are wise to worry that may be the case regarding the commercial refuse business.
Steubenville City Council members are discussing sanitation department finances and how to keep them in the black. Doing so now, rather than waiting until 2023, when expenses are forecast to exceed revenue, is prudent.
In truth, the garbage and trash collection business has been better than the department's bottom line may seem to indicate. Much of about $5 million that had been built up in the sanitation account was transferred to cover other municipal needs, including the water and sewer systems.
But there has been discussion of how the sanitation department should handle commercial accounts -- that is, businesses that generate more refuse than residences. The city now has about 113 such customers.
But many commercial accounts are served by private companies, it has been pointed out. It also has been noted a municipal ordinance requires that all sanitation disposal, with rare exceptions, be handled by the city department. Whether council should enforce that rule and expand the sanitation department to handle new customers has been discussed.
Councilman Craig Petrella had suggested the city should do just that. "Do you think (the private disposal companies) would travel 20 miles or more and not make money doing it?" he asked during one council meeting.
But others on council pointed out expanding the city's commercial accounts would require a big investment in new equipment. And, of course, there are economies of scale some private companies enjoy that would not be available to the city.
Council members seem to be leaning toward getting out of the commercial account business altogether. That could shave sanitation department costs by about $110,000 a year.
At this point, that appears to be the prudent course of action, preferable to taking a big risk with taxpayers' money.