BUCYRUS, Ohio – The Crawford County Solid Waste District Policy Committee met to discuss possible fee increases, how those increases might affect revenue and how the increases might affect businesses and the general public.
“We have to approve a rate increase,” said County Commissioner Doug Weisenauer, who officiated the meeting, “The tonnage rates are down.”
The main purpose of the meeting was to discuss possible changes in rate fees to build into the district’s five-year plan. The management plan is required every five years by the Environmental Protection Agency. Matt Scheiffler from the county commissioners office distributed a 20-year forecast which is also required by the EPA.
The committee also studied revenues and expenditures. Revenue is declining.
Required recycling has been one cause of the drop in revenue. Also, it was noted, that one of the largest customers has been recycling more of its metal waste, which has resulted in a drop in revenue.
The tier fees presently stand at 1/2/1. That means for one ton of solid waste, the county gets $1 for in-county residents, $2 for out-of-county residents and $1 for out-of-state dumpers, although, the county does not allow out of state garbage to be dumped at the county landfill.
Another fee is the generation fee, which is presently at $2. These are the rates as they were in 2010 when they were lowered because of the economic decline. Now the committee feels it is possible to raise them back to the 2006 rates, which would be 2/4/2 and a generation fee of $3.
Discussions included whether if the rates are raised, will customers go somewhere else? The EPA is pushing hard to recycle more and more. With recycling on the rise, less will be put in the landfill which results in less revenue for the solid waste district. By raising the rates to 2/4/2, the county is still competitive with neighboring counties.
The plan to build an addition to the facility has been tabled as well due to flattening revenue, although the plan could resurface if funding became available.
The committee also discussed placing rate increases into the 20-year plan as a safety precaution.
Final numbers will be decided at the next meeting of the committee. The plan must be presented to the EPA by April of this year. After it is studied, there will be public review of the solid waste plan draft during the final quarter of the year.
The policy committee will meet again to finalize fee changes Thursday, Feb. 5 at 3 p.m. at the Crawford County Engineers Office, 815 Whetstone Street, Bucyrus. The public is encouraged to attend.
For more information regarding solid waste disposal fees call 419-562-4169 or email crawfordswmd@midohio.twcbc.com or go to http://www.crawfordcountysolidwaste.com/.
Note: County tier and generation fees are not gate fees. The gate fee to dump at the Crawford County Landfill is set by Santek. The 1/2/1 is then passed on to the county by Santek. For more information about Santek and their gate fees visit their site.
