
DATE: Thursday, February 27, 1997           TAG: 9702270423

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY PAM STARR, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   71 lines

TRASH-REMOVAL COSTS ARE GROSSLY UNFAIR, CONDO OWNERS CLAIM ``GARBAGE FEES CAN RANGE FROM $50 A MONTH TO $300 OR $400. . . .''

The cost of trash removal is included in everyone's taxes, yet condominium owners have to pay for it twice.

Because condo owners live on private streets, the city won't pick up trash there or maintain the streets. So those residents pay extra for private trash removal and street maintenance and repair.

That isn't fair, said community association attorney Michael Inman, who wants the city to treat condo owners more equitably. He will speak Saturday on ``Reimbursement for Municipal Services'' at the Community Association Institute conference and expo in Virginia Beach.

``Condo owners are most discriminated against because of their private nature,'' Inman said. ``It's obviously very unfair. They're paying the same tax rate as anyone else.''

Trash removal is one of the biggest expenses for condominiums, Glenwood Community Association manager Carol Lare said. Glenwood is a multidwelling Kempsville neighborhood consisting of condominiums, townhouses and single-family homes. Every year at budget time, Lare said, she hears the same thing.

``It makes for some very heated conversation,'' Lare said. ``Garbage fees can range from $50 a month to $300 or $400 a month, depending on the number of dumpsters or if they have curbside pickup. It's one of the biggest expenses for condominiums.''

New Jersey is the only state that has a rebate system for trash removal, Inman said, and that took years to get in place. Condominiums submit a report on how much they pay for services, then the city refunds to them.

Inman, hoping to ride on New Jersey's precedent, has written to state Sen. Kenneth W. Stolle, R-Virginia Beach, and Attorney General Jim Gilmore about equalization of municipal services and is waiting for action.

``We could get a state law passed that a different tax rate apply to condo owners,'' Inman said. ``If condo owners are concerned about this issue, I suggest they contact city council people first so they're aware of grass-roots support.''

Virginia Beach is open to the concept of a fee-based trash removal system, Inman said, but the budgetary structure would need to be changed. That is unlikely to happen this year. E. Dean Block, director of management services for the city, said Virginia Beach has in the past considered the fee-collection service.

``The city has decided not to do that so far; we're not sure if a fee would recover the full cost of the service,'' Block said. ``There would be additional costs because you have to bill and collect. There are a lot of pros and cons to it; you can get arguments for both sides.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic

ABOUT THE SHOW

If you want to go: The Community Association Institute is hosting

the 11th annual Community Association Day & Trade Show from 8:30

a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday at the Holiday Inn Executive Center on

Greenwich Road in Virginia Beach. The cost is $35 for members or $45

for nonmembers. That includes a continental breakfast, seminars,

trade show, social hour and a lunch with Barbara Ciara of WVEC 13

News.

What is involved: Seminar topics include ``Dealing With Difficult

People,'' ``Mediation - The People's Court,'' ``Extending the Life

of Capital Reserves,'' ``National Trends in Community Associations''

and ``Disclosing the Myths About Resale Disclosure.''