Residents will see a reduction in yard waste pickup over the next several months, a change that reflect services cuts in the current fiscal year budget.
Beginning this month and through October, yard waste pickup will be reduced to one week per month. Previously, residents had twice monthly pickups during that period.
The pickup schedule will remain the same, however, for the rest of the fiscal year. Yard waste pickup will be weekly in November, and twice per month in December, April, May and June. There will be no yard waste pickup in January, February and March.
A calendar for pickup service can be found on the town’s Department of Public Works webpage.
“It’ll definitely be an adjustment,” said Recycling Coordinator Joseph Sten. “I think people are very used to what they’ve gotten used to. There’s no way to sugarcoat it; it’s just a reduction in service. It’ll be difficult.”
Sten said the decision to reduce the number of yard waste pickups was made after the Department of Public Works was asked to cut $100,000 from its fiscal year 2027 budget.
According to Select Board Chair Taylor Yates, the budget decision was discussed by the board ahead of the annual Town Meeting, at which Town Meeting members ultimately approved it as part of the fiscal year budget.
The change in pickup schedule was shared online and included in residents’ utility bills, according to Yates.
“I feel people’s frustration. Cutting services is not something anyone wants to do, but the reality is that, by law, we must operate within the confines of Proposition 2 ½, pay off pension liabilities accrued decades ago, and provide essential services like police, fire and education,” he said. “Ultimately, we were elected to make the hard choices — stretching every dollar to do the most good for Belmont.”
Sten, who explained yard waste is hauled by Waste Management to a site in Tewksbury, said the department will evaluate how this year goes and whether changes will need to be made in subsequent years.
“Summer may need more or spring needs less,” he said, by way of example. “Right now, we determined this would make the most sense, so we’re going to move forward with this.”
The change was also noted in the Warrant Committee’s budget report, which was published in May. According to Chair Paul Rickter, the committee “thoroughly” discusses individual parts of the town budget in subcommittees, though the final report is available to any resident.
“It’s definitely something the Warrant Committee has encouraged all town departments to do; find ways to save a little bit of money here and there,” Rickter said. “It’s a tough one, and I know people are now really mad, but I think we communicated what was happening.”
An earlier version of this story had mischaracterized a statement made by Select Board Chair Taylor Yates.
