Ledyard — Months after a controversial trash ordinance was adopted, removing mobile homes from municipal trash pickup, the Town Council may opt to delay its implementation.

During their meeting Wednesday, town councilors will vote whether to delay the implementation of Ordinance 146, which amended the town’s waste management and recycling ordinance. The change was expected to save $20,000 to $24,000 and was planned to go into effect in February, when the town would no longer provide trash pickup service for mobile-home owners.

Adopted in October as one of a series of moves to absorb cuts in state aid, the ordinance had drawn harsh criticism from mobile-home owners and park operators, who argued the new ordinance excluded mobile-home owners from a service they already were paying for through their property taxes.

Mobile-home owners and park operators also argued the ordinance placed an unfair burden on the many mobile-home residents who are seniors or on fixed income, and the state statute that guides the arrangement of waste collection for mobile-home parks in the absence of a municipality didn’t specify who would be responsible for paying for the pickup service.

On the other side, some town councilors, as well as the mayor, defended the ordinance. They argued the situation of mobile-home residents not receiving trash collection services despite paying property taxes is similar to other town services that are not directly received by all taxpayers, such as schools.

Local officials also stressed the ordinance was not ideal but another way to trim the budget as the town walks the tightrope of dealing with cuts in state aid.

The issue was so contentious, the Town Council placed it on a meeting agenda nearly two months after the ordinance already had been adopted so that residents could voice their concerns.

Confusion around the overarching state statute became a sticking point following the meeting, and council Chairwoman Linda Davis said the town would double-check with its attorney regarding its interpretation of the statute.

But after nearly a month, the town still hasn’t received any kind of an opinion from an attorney, Davis said. Because of that lack of clarity, she felt it made the most sense to table the ordinance for now.

“I don’t think the statute is particularly clear,” Davis said. “We wouldn’t want to get us in a situation where the town isn’t complying with statute.”

Davis also said they wouldn’t want to put the town in a situation where a lawsuit was a possibility.

Meanwhile the possibility of delaying the ordinance comes as a relief to mobile-home owners and park operators.

Nathan Weiss, who operates a mobile-home park on Long Cove Road, said the state statute was crafted to protect mobile-home owners and, in this instance, the ordinance operated opposite to the statute's intent. He added town officials seemed to believe they were taking away the service from businesses — the mobile-home park operators — who would then be left with the bill, but he said ultimately that cost would have gotten passed down to residents.

c.clark@theday.com