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- 5:36:49, May 15th 2013 - Frank Hawthorne - Though I hated to see you reference Glenn Beck by name [Three Times ... [Read More]
- 11:42:07, May 10th 2013 - yenken - I feel very sorry for those who have commented do far, as when you stand fa ... [Read More]
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- 7:00:49, Apr 11th 2013 - Donald Pierce - Col. Stan Gudmundson hit most of the important nails squarly on the h ... [Read More]
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- 5:09:06, Apr 3rd 2013 - truthiness - I see this is dated April 1. That explains it! ... [Read More]
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29
How will you keep your kids busy this summer vacation?
County board delays decision on solid waste fees
Mon, Nov 19th, 2012
Posted in Government
Posted in Government
Comments
Seeing a downturn in revenues in recent years, the County board and staff are seeking ways to fill an annual 3.5 million dollar deficit in operating the waste to energy facility.
The facility was designed to break even at worst, but a shortage of incoming garbage – partially due to an increase in recycling, less demand for steam heat due to warmer weather and cheap natural gas, and no coal ash deposits – has the county consistently in the red with the program.
John Helmers, county director of environmental resources, says that the trend in recent years toward less garbage being delivered to the facility “is something that can be expected to continue for the foreseeable future.”
To come up with the necessary savings, the board of commissioners is considering a mix of actions which will be used in one of five proposed combinations. These actions include new service fees to just residential or both residential and commercial sites, and greatly reducing fees for haulers – creating a greater amount of material for the incinerator to use. The county currently charges haulers a fee of $83 per ton. The proposed reduction of the fee would be substantial drop to $60 a ton.
A couple of solid waste haulers offered their opinions to the board. Russ Schweihs remembers when the waste to energy plant was built and quickly increased fees substantially from $38 to $64. Another hauler discouraged moving the cost to homeowners, noting that the facility serves Rochester far more than outlying communities within Olmsted County.
Whichever plan is selected, county residents can expect to see their garbage bills rise. Increases are anticipated to be about $1.78 at the low and as much as $3.47.
Commissioner Jim Bier expressed a desire for the board to hear directly from waste haulers and members of the public.
“Before we go down this road, I’d like a little more information,” he said.
The board agreed to table the decision on a change to the county’s solid waste ordinance and to gather input from affected parties at a committee of the whole meeting on Tuesday, November 27th before going forward with a choice.
Solid waste fees must be encoded in the county’s ordinance, which requires notification of the public. This deterred the board from settling on one option while remaining open to changing it later. The ordinance would take effect 120 days from passage it’s approval by the board, so fees will not change until at least April of next year.
The facility was designed to break even at worst, but a shortage of incoming garbage – partially due to an increase in recycling, less demand for steam heat due to warmer weather and cheap natural gas, and no coal ash deposits – has the county consistently in the red with the program.
John Helmers, county director of environmental resources, says that the trend in recent years toward less garbage being delivered to the facility “is something that can be expected to continue for the foreseeable future.”
To come up with the necessary savings, the board of commissioners is considering a mix of actions which will be used in one of five proposed combinations. These actions include new service fees to just residential or both residential and commercial sites, and greatly reducing fees for haulers – creating a greater amount of material for the incinerator to use. The county currently charges haulers a fee of $83 per ton. The proposed reduction of the fee would be substantial drop to $60 a ton.
A couple of solid waste haulers offered their opinions to the board. Russ Schweihs remembers when the waste to energy plant was built and quickly increased fees substantially from $38 to $64. Another hauler discouraged moving the cost to homeowners, noting that the facility serves Rochester far more than outlying communities within Olmsted County.
Whichever plan is selected, county residents can expect to see their garbage bills rise. Increases are anticipated to be about $1.78 at the low and as much as $3.47.
Commissioner Jim Bier expressed a desire for the board to hear directly from waste haulers and members of the public.
“Before we go down this road, I’d like a little more information,” he said.
The board agreed to table the decision on a change to the county’s solid waste ordinance and to gather input from affected parties at a committee of the whole meeting on Tuesday, November 27th before going forward with a choice.
Solid waste fees must be encoded in the county’s ordinance, which requires notification of the public. This deterred the board from settling on one option while remaining open to changing it later. The ordinance would take effect 120 days from passage it’s approval by the board, so fees will not change until at least April of next year.
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