When residents in the Roslyn Garbage District call in a complaint about disposing garbage, the phone rings at the home of James McCann, a commissioner who is seeking re-election on Dec. 13.
The home-based complaint response system “keeps overhead very low,” McCann said.
McCann, a five-term incumbent who has served on the commission since 1991, is running unopposed.
He serves alongside Ralph Milliken and Arlene Tucholski on the three-person board.
Each commissioner’s three-year term is staggered in such a way that one of three seats comes open for election each year. The position is part-time and pays approximately $4,000 per year.
The Roslyn Garbage District serves portions of Roslyn Heights and Greenville.
Over his most recent term, McCann has overseen a 3 percent reduction in the garbage tax, he said.
He attributes the reduction to the district “administering garbage collection correctly” and choosing to pick up trash and recyclables only two days per week, while other districts pick it up three days per week.
In addition to supervising trash collection, the garbage district is responsible for responding to resident complaints and questions regarding disposal.
“The majority of complaints come from people who are moving and trying to deposit their contents on the curb,” he said.
McCann said instructs residents on how to get rid of items that cannot be collected in the routine trash pick-up.
“Most of our questions come from people outside the district,” he said. “We try to help with those.”
He said the commissioners meet three or four times per month in order to review complaints and update each other on what’s going on in the district.
McCann has lived in Roslyn for 55 years, and served as a volunteer firefighter for 42 years. He is currently the president of the Highlands Fire Department, a position he has held for 23 years.
He said he joined the fire department because his “friends were doing it.”
“Some left and I stayed,” he added.
To supplement his commissioner income, McCann works full-time in a law-enforcement related job.
“What’s good about law enforcement for me is the shifts alternate each week. So I can take care of early morning garbage complaints one week and afternoon complaints another,” he said.
McCann acknowledged that garbage work often goes unnoticed, but that’s alright with him.
“Nobody cares about garbage,” he said.
“I’m not looking for anybody to pat me on the back. If I can do the right thing, make the neighborhood clean and make it look reasonable, why not?” he asked.
