21-09-22 EMC minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Director Mansour said this was part of the budget. We get about 60 percent subsidy from the general fund to offset pretty much the residential use, and the operations and maintenance. The tipping fees come from the commercial user, and is almost half of our entire budget. Our entire budget is $38 million, but half of it comes from subsidies from the general fund. If you run the numbers, currently we assume every house generates 1.5 tons. So that amount based on the current rate of $114 per ton, we are looking at $171. We are not collecting $171 from each property. We are collecting 6 percent of the general fund, which comes to $60 to $80 per house per year. Commissioner Olson noted that in Puna we are only at 40 percent of buildout. Director Mansour said things have got to change and we need to stop the bleeding somehow. To him, upcoming subdivisions need to start putting a waste drop off area, such as for apartment complexes. Right now if you live in an apartment, you have trash service. Why can’t we start asking developers to do the same thing into these new subdivisions? Some of the lots are 3 acres are more, Commissioner Olson said. They are supposed to be agricultural, but that certainly is not the majority. But the thing is that we are going to need to find a way of funding this rather than at simply the property tax level. Director Mansour agreed. He looked forward to having the Commissioners educate their own council members about what we are talking about. Here, it seems like a disconnect, he said. Commissioner Olson said that one of the things that he has been looking into is the idea that we get the disposal fee at the point of purchase. In other words, you get the money before it actually ends up in the trash. Director Mansour said based on a quick calculation it costs the County 5 cents a pound to dispose of trash. If we come up with legislation where at the point of purchase you could charge consumers 10 to 15 cents a pound, that should cover our services. If people want to start producing 100 pounds of waste, but are willing to pay for the pound of product that they purchase, somehow, somebody will say you have to pay for the amount of waste you generate. Either you pay for it as you throw or you pay for it at the counter. When you buy 10 pounds of apple, add a dime to it for disposal of waste. Chair Adams said that one of the things that she had asked the new Deputy Corporation Counsel to start digging into was the concept of a point of sale fee for disposal. He’s not done but that is something that DEM is also interested in exploring. Can the County do such a thing? Does it have to be a state fee? Counsel SalasFerguson said County gets its revenue from real property tax. The power to tax is reserved to the State. The counties can enact a regulatory fee or a user fee for the types of services that they provide. Just listening to the discussion, he believes tentatively the County would have the power to charge for disposal of waste because that’s a service that the person 15