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For Mike Mocciae, garbage cans and budgetary concerns are intertwined. If people would simply use the cans even if it's not their trash the fact that his Department of Parks and Recreation has fewer employees wouldn't be so obvious. And Norwalk's parks would be something he could be proud of, no matter what time of day it is.
"My budget went from three years ago, $4 million to $3.4," he said. "Ten percent cut. That's salaries and everything. It's not like the Board of Ed, which says it gets cut every year: their budget still goes up. My budget has gone down 10 percent over the last three years. Those are serious cuts."
Cuts mean five to seven fewer part-time employees this summer, workers who would supplement the full-time maintenance staff at the parks. That means fewer people to paint walls, repair fences, trim brush, weed beds and do extra things, such as line ball fields let alone pick up trash.
Given the behavior at the parks last summer, Mocciae is not optimistic.
"Great example, Calf Pasture Beach," he said. "We've got a lot of people who will go in after hours, looking for bottles. They turn the cans completely over, fish out the bottles and leave the garbage on the ground. It will blow around the entire park and make it look like you never cleaned it. That happened last year every evening."
Times being what they are, Mocciae has a suggestion. "It's our livelihood and we try to make things look the best we can," he said. "We have to rely on the people in the community to make a difference. They want to live in a clean town, they gotta bend over and pick up some paper, too."
Mocciae is frustrated because he gets phone calls from people who complain when they could just as easily solve the problem themselves. "Somebody said there was garbage at Taylor Farm, because they couldn't walk from the picnic table to the where the garbage can was," he said. The trash was just wrappers, he said nothing disgusting.
The smaller parks suffer more from the lack of staff, he said, and mentioned Ludlow Park, Strawberry Hill and Bouton Street. Sometimes people go to Flax Hill Park and play soccer without a permit; they dump the garbage out and use it to make a goal. Someone else is expected to clean up.
"How can I do anything?" he said. "My budget's been cut, time for you to step up.
You live here, too, make a difference. If you see somebody doing it, say something. Or pick up after them. Make a difference. That's what a community is. Community works together."Do you think there is less of a sense of community than there used to be? Have you seen people throw trash out the window of their car? Comment below!
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