To the editor:

As a resident of Portland, we have too much hiding and not enough transparency on important issues.

The example I’m using is with the new trash ordinance.

This ordinance was brought up without citizen input, which you didn’t want. (No input, no hassle.)

We had more transparency after the fact — radio, newspaper — than before the fact. (Where was the people’s voice?) You’re elected to represent all the people of Portland, not one’s own self-agenda — mayor and street department head.

We paid $5 a month to have all trash picked up. Now we pay $5.50 a month and an additional fee for sofas, chairs and mattresses. And one free day we haul to the street department.

What happened to a fair wage for a fair day’s work?

Maybe we need to have a vote on the ballot so the residents have a say.

Terry Robbins Sr.

Portland