stephen lisauskas – Stephen Lisauskas

Financial and Data-Driven Measures Proposed to Protect Environment

Stephen Lisauskas works as Regional Vice President of Municipal Partnerships for WasteZero, a certified B corporation that works with cities and towns nationwide to reduce municipal waste and associated costs. A founder of StatNet New England, Stephen Lisauskas stays current with Commonwealth of Massachusetts legislation relevant to StatNet goals for efficiency and effectiveness in local government.

House Bill H.2944 was referred to the Massachusetts Joint Committee on the Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture earlier this year. The bill proposes physical, financial, and data-driven measures to reduce solid waste in Massachusetts municipalities. The seven measures include:

1. Establishment of a solid waste management council
2. Increased collection of certain types of data
3. Surcharges on waste disposal
4. Pay as You Throw programs
5. Clear plastic bags for waste disposal
6. Recycling of mattresses, textiles, and organic material
7. Mandatory reporting of contamination

The proposed council would be composed of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) commissioner or designee, as well as representatives from the solid waste industry, waste reduction advocacy groups, and universities that study or teach about solid waste. The council would be tasked with developing a report on best practices in solid waste reduction and recommending the expenditure of funds collected from waste-disposal surcharges.

MassDEP would collect data on the percentage of materials that are recycled, composted, and discarded.

Operators of incinerators, landfills, and resource recovery facilities would be required to pay MassDEP a $5-per-ton surcharge for solid waste processed at their facilities.

Designed to decrease waste disposal by 30 percent over five years, Pay as You Throw programs would help municipalities reduce waste to no more than 450 pounds of waste per capita per year.

Clear plastic bags would enable MassDEP to better enforce bans of certain types of waste, including lead batteries, tires, leaves and yard waste, wood, and wallboard. Other banned items include recyclables such as aluminum, metal or glass containers, single-polymer plastics, and paper, among others. In addition, mattresses, textiles, and organic material would be banned from disposal unless the material is shown to be contaminated.

WasteZero Recommends Pay-As-You-Throw Programs

WasteZero pic — WasteZero
Image: wastezero.com

A graduate of Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Stephen Lisauskas holds an MPA in finance and management. Stephen Lisauskas leverages his training to serve as Vice President of Government Affairs and Regional Vice President of Municipal Partnerships at WasteZero.

One of the leading waste reduction companies in the United States, WasteZero works with more than 800 cities, towns, counties, state agencies, and organizations to implement waste-reduction plans. One of the ways the company recommends reducing waste is through a pay-as-you-throw (PAYT) program.

Whereas most cities and towns charge residents a flat rate for garbage removal, PAYT uses a variable rate according to usage. Communities that have instituted PAYT programs have been able to increase recycling and reduce waste while helping to protect the environment.

In turn, less waste leads to lower costs for the trash sent to landfills, which allows communities to allocate these funds to other services and programs, such as schools and parks. The American Institute for Packaging and the Environment (AMERIPEN) has found PAYT to be so effective that it recommends this method as one of the top three ways to increase recycling and reduce solid waste.

A Brief Overview of Municipal Bankruptcy

Stephen Lisauskas is an experienced municipal financial leader who has worked as the executive director of the Springfield Finance Control Board and the deputy town administrator of Natick, Massachusetts. Over the course of his career, Stephen Lisauskas has become familiar with many areas of municipal finance, including municipal bankruptcy.

Chapter 9, Title 11, is a unique bankruptcy filing available only to municipalities. The filing was designed to assist financially compromised municipalities in restructuring their debt.

In most cases, Chapter 9 bankruptcy allows a municipality to either extend debt maturities (as a means of reducing the principal or accrued interest) or entirely restructure the debt with the help of a new loan. The most important distinction between Chapter 9 bankruptcy and other types is that municipalities cannot be forced to liquidate assets to satisfy creditors. Such an act would violate the Tenth Amendment to the US Constitution and would leave a municipality with little infrastructure to support itself or its citizens, essentially rendering a filing useless.

There are a number of notable Chapter 9 filings in the history of the United States. The city of Detroit recently filed for bankruptcy to the tune of $18 billion, the largest such filing in the nation’s history.

Lessons Learned about Municipal Bankruptcies

An associate at the Edward J. Collins Center for Public Management at the University of Massachusetts, Stephen Lisauskas has a considerable background in helping cities manage their expenses. Stephen Lisauskas has worked with fiscally distressed cities to reduce costs and improve credit.

In 2014, Detroit faced critical distress and declared bankruptcy. The plan to deal with that crisis imposed many hardships, such as layoffs and tax increases, which exacerbated population declines. The Pew Charitable Trusts reported on several measures that states could implement to prevent or better manage municipal bankruptcies. These include offering early assistance to distressed cities and counties; tracking cities’ fiscal condition for warning signs of financial problems; and devising alternatives to bankruptcy, including the appointment of temporary managers and monitors.

When no alternatives exist to bankruptcy, policy makers could consult representatives of all parties who have a stake in the outcome, in order to settle conflicts. Once a government exits the bankruptcy, it should enact a short-term recovery plan and a longer-term strategy of economic growth. Equally important is budgeting to balance revenues and expenses over a multi-year span to help address underlying causes.

“Pay as You Throw” Helps Save Brewer $370,000

A public administration professional, Stephen Lisauskas serves as vice president of government affairs at WasteZero. Stephen Lisauskas also oversees the company’s municipal partnerships division in northeast.

Recently, WasteZero shared an article published by the Bangor Daily News that highlighted the success of its “Pay as You Throw” program. Following five years of participation by the city of Brewer in Massachusetts, the local government reported a savings of $370,000. The achievement was a result of the waste reduction program as well as the city’s implementation of zero-sort recycling one year prior.

Local residents utilize bags offered through the “Pay as You Throw” program to fill with waste for curbside pickup. The result, as of 2016, was a drop in solid waste collection by half. In addition, a boost of 24 percent in recycling was recorded, which amounts to a 29 percent recycling rate. The waste reduction solutions have also improved city tax rates as an added benefit to local residents.

Report Helps Swampscott Improve Services

As an experienced budget strategist and public administrator, Stephen Lisauskas serves as the Vice President of Government Affairs and Regional Vice President of Municipal Partnerships at WasteZero. Stephen Lisauskas also serves as a Senior Associate at the Edward J. Collins Center for Public Management at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

The Collins Center recently created a report for the town of Swampscott, Massachusetts, which commissioned it in early 2015 after learning how the Collins Center helped nearby Salem. According to an article in the Salem News, the Collins Center report outlines ways in which Swampscott’s government can operate with more accountability and deliver services more efficiently.

To generate the report, the Collins Center conducted an expansive study of the town’s departments and fiscal 2014 figures. The study discovered that Swampscott was spending more on education, police, human services, fire, fixed costs, and debt service per capita compared to other municipalities. With this information, the Collins Center was able to suggest new and more effective ways, from consolidation to regionalization, for Swampscott to deliver town services.

The Collins Center Offers City Help with Capital Improvement Plan

With background in financial management and cost-saving solutions, Stephen Lisauskas serves as the Vice President of Government Affairs and the Regional Vice President of Municipal Partnerships at WasteZero. Stephen Lisauskas also leverages his experience in public administration to serve as a Senior Associate at the Edward J. Collins Center for Public Management at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

According to a recent news release, the Collins Center has partnered with the City of Marlborough to help the city identify and prioritize long-term initiatives that will advance a broad capital improvement plan. The partnership was formed after Marlborough received a $30,000 state grant through the Community Compact program to implement best practices and establish a multiyear capital improvement strategy.

Marlborough partnered with the Collins Center on the grant program because the center has experience helping municipalities develop planning initiatives and capital plans. In the early stages of the program, representatives from the Collins Center will work with city department heads to learn more about the City’s priorities and objectives, which will allow them to develop potential capital improvements. The capital improvement plan is expected to be completed by July of 2016.

WasteZero Programs Lead to Cost Savings in Brewer, Maine

For more than five years, Stephen Lisauskas has served as a Senior Associate at the Edward J. Collins Center for Public Management at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Stephen Lisauskas balances this role with his responsibilities as the Vice President of Government Affairs and the Regional Vice President of Municipal Partnerships at WasteZero.

Committed to halving the amount of trash in America, WasteZero helps implement cutting-edge waste reduction programs in communities across the country, including the city of Brewer, Maine. WasteZero helped Brewer establish a pay-as-you-throw program in 2011 to decrease the amount of trash transported to a facility in another town.

Over the past five years, these programs have saved Brewer $370,000 by significantly increasing recycling rates and decreasing the tonnage of solid waste collected. Brewer reports that the WasteZero programs led to an almost six-fold increase in recycling rates and cut the amount of curbside waste collected by 50 percent. According to a representative from WasteZero, the programs are successful in part because they improve consumers’ awareness about the cost of trash.

Stephen Lisauskas: The Unique Jujitsu Practices of the International Seirenkai Organization

International Seirenkai Organization pic — International Seirenkai Organization
Image: seirenkai.com

A fifth-degree black belt, municipal finance expert Stephen Lisauskas serves as a founding member of the Board of Directors of the International Seirenkai Organization, or ISO. Founded in 2008, the Connecticut-based organization works to advance several martial arts traditions of karate, jujitsu, and kobudo, which focuses on the skillful use of Okinawan weapons. Through all of its practices, the ISO seeks to improve the physical health of its members while promoting self-confidence, leadership, and responsibility, as well as respect for others.

While many organizations teach competitive jujitsu, a traditional Japanese martial art, the ISO has developed its own unique form called Seirenkai Jujitsu. Unlike other approaches to the art, Seirenkai Jujitsu is wholly practical in its philosophy and design, and its sole goal is self-defense. As a result, the form focuses on a variety of defensive maneuvers, including throws, grappling, and pressure point techniques. Practitioners also master strikes, punches, kicks, and blocks.