New Rincon city manager Donald Toms spoke to the Rincon noon Lion’s Club on Tuesday afternoon, sharing a little about background and addressing the crowd’s concerns about city operations.

Toms said he has six basic goals after working in government for the past 12 years. Number one is to show respect.
“Every customer should be treated as your most important customer,” he pointed out.

Paying attention and making decisions in the best interest of the community without sacrificing the individual are also priorities.

“Be proactive. I think that’s something that’s sometimes lost in government,” Toms said. “I have always treated government as a business.”

Club members asked Toms about Rincon issues and Billy Dasher questioned the inconsistency of water bills.

“No rhyme or reason for what’s going on,” he said. “There’s no way your water bill can be $40 one month and $150 the next month.”

Toms acknowledged that water administration has not been handled properly. He pointed to the new radio read meters as one way of ensuring that residents’ water bills are read and processed correctly.

In addition, he’s also asked the water department to flag any unusually high bills. Water theft, he said, has played a part in inconsistent water bills for some residents in the city.

“I’ve been told of one lady that only lived here on weekends. She came home early to find that her hose was going through her backyard to her neighbor’s pool,” Toms said.

However, he hopes that the city can get the bill inconsistencies behind them.

Member Sally Freeman offered her concerns about the litter she has noticed in Rincon.

“You have any thoughts on improving the litter situation in the city?” she asked. “I don’t know what you can do about it.”

Toms believes that you first have to educate the community about the problem.  

“Signage would help. Community involvement would help — if you see it, report it,” he said. “And to basically train up police officers to tell them that not all crimes involve guns and violence but sometimes someone throwing paper out of their car is not a major crime, but it’s still a crime.”

He also favors using prison labor to go down the roads and pick up trash.

Dasher suggested that a man who picks up litter along Fort Howard Road be formally honored by the city for his efforts. However, Toms said he has not been able to find out the man’s name and contact information.

“I would love to recognize him,” he said and encouraged anyone with information about the man to contact him.

Member Danny Fries broached the subject of the current problems with trash pickups. Residents have made several complaints about the service. Toms said he met with officials from Republic Waste Services during his second week on the job. They promised service would improve; Toms said that isn’t enough.

“I said I need to see results and I’m gonna put out (a request for proposal), that way we get some competition in here and if you’re the best person for the city and you can prove it, we’re happy to stay with you,” Toms said. “If not, it’s two or three other companies that work in the surrounding area.”

“I just think it’s time for a change,” said Fries, who believes that any improvements will only be temporary.

Most of the complaints Toms acknowledged regard damaged containers, inappropriate pickup times, leaking hydraulic fluid and the placing of containers.

He believes the automated service is the culprit for damaged containers and missed pick-ups. He favors manual pickups.

“Complaints, I personally think, would be reduced down to almost nothing,” Toms said.

Yet, reverting to manual handling would raise garbage bills, but only minimally, according to him. 

Fries raised his concerns about the police pay. Toms admitted that officers’ salaries were a concern of his when he was first hired.

“Pay is very important,” he noted.

He added that those who support raising the officers’ pay should attend the city council meetings and make their support known.

Toms parted by saying that in trying to achieve your goals, challenges will arise and mistakes will be made from time to time. However, your reputation is determined by how you handle them.

“I hope coming in that my reputation is good and excellent,” he remarked. “And I hope to keep it that way.”