BUCYRUS, Ohio – After a long discussion Wednesday evening, the Crawford County Solid Waste District Policy Committee decided on a plan that will increase solid waste tier fees for Crawford county and surrounding communities.
The proposal meets the requirement for the district’s renewal of a five-year plan.
“I don’t think we have an option other than to raise the fees,” said Bucyrus City alternate Jeff Wagner, a member of the committee.
The committee agreed to adopt and create a plan that increases service fees because the landfill – a source of revenue for the county – has experienced a significant decrease in revenue due to increased recycling regulations enforced by the Ohio Environment Protection Agency (EPA).
In a worst case scenario formulated by Matt Scheiffler from the county commissioners office, if the county did not adopt a plan to increase service fees, the county’s Solid Waste District revenue would amount to approximately $9,400 by the end of 2015.
In a best case scenario, with nothing changed, the cash balance would amount to approximately $44,500 – which is still a significant decrease from last year’s cash balance of $206,000.
The county’s landfill cash balance has decreased by an average of $122,258 since 2009.
The increases in services will be in three different parts: in-county fees, out-of-county fees, and generation fees. Current fees are $1 for in-county waste service, $2 for out-of-county, $1 for a generation fee. A generation fee is charged to the county from where the waste originates.
The new proposed service fees are doubled – $2 for in-county waste service, $4 for out-of-county, $2 for a generation fee. These fees are the same as they were in 2006, before the recession. County Commissioner Doug Weisenauer said this will amount to 10 cents per household in Bucyrus per month.
Mayor Jeff Reser said the increase in service fees is reasonable.
“We have found ourselves in a proverbial catch 22. The more we have to recycle, the more money we lose from the landfill. So the increase makes sense and I think it’s a good deal,” said Reser.
Weisenauer noted that the increase in service fees will put the landfill out of debt by 2019.
The next step in the process is to send the proposal to a consultant who will write the plan. Once the draft of the plan is written, the Crawford County Solid Waste District Policy District will present it to the Ohio EPA. The deadline for the draft is June 30. The EPA then has 45 days to review the presentation. A final draft is due October 1, 2016.
According to Weisenauer, a public hearing of the proposed plan will be held in the next two to three months.
