Baitball Blogger, yes. There is a lot going on. This whole Garbage Politics thing has me going. A couple of things you will notice:
1. FEMA does not pick up in HOA areas, so some cities are making a decision not to pick up in HOAs. (I am fine with this since I don't think FEMA should pick up anywhere where the debris presents no danger)
2. Normal bulk garbage pick ups have not taken place in many, many cities. (Why not pick up the NORMAL amount of bulk garbage that has already been accounted for in our taxes?)
3. In answer to above, I suspect that the cities are capitalizing on FEMA. Why pay for normal bulk pick up when we can get FEMA to pick it all up? (Thereby charging US taxpayers for something that should be a local cost and has actually already been accounted for in the budget). Not blaming the victim (us) but I certainly knew when I planted a lot of trees on my property that I lived in a high storm part of the country and should not wait for FEMA to pay for the landscaping of my private property.
4. Landscapers (including mine) dragged a lot to the front of my house that was NOT hurricane - related. I have a large amount of trees and bushes and the landscaper thought it should be all be trimmed at taxpayer expense. He kept telling me that the county commissioners announced that ALL debris would eventually be picked up so there is no reason not to pile it up. It was so obvious to me and to everyone else, that he wanted me to get rid of excess bushes and tree limbs on the taxpayer's dime. I guess he was trying to look out for me, but I don't agree with adding a cost on to my neighbors that should belong to me.
5. Municipalities are complaining that landscapers are gouging them, but we all know that our cities hire undocumented people, pay them next to nothing and now that there is a shortage, they are angry about having to pay real wages. (If they had city workers instead of independent contractors, the price would be fixed, everyone doing the work would have on payroll and would have benefits).
6. If the landscapers are making money, go for it. Florida workers are underpaid. Let them enjoy a decent income for however long this goes on.
= new reply since forum marked as read