Commissioners discuss solid waste funding options

After numerous discussions over the past year, Washington County commissioners said they hope to have proposed fee changes to cover the costs of the county’s solid waste operations ready in the spring.
 Commissioners recently took up the solid waste operations again as they seek to simplify the regulations and adjust the fees to make the cost of running operations equitable for all county residents.
 Commissioners recently met with officials with the road and bridge department, which runs the solid waste program and the county assessor to go over some revenue numbers.
 The solid waste operations in the county are currently funded by a fee of $56 paid by every property owner and a tax levy that raises property taxes.
 One idea that was discussed was going with a fee increase to cover costs and doing away with the current tax levy.
 Adams County, for example, charges a flat fee of $130 per parcel to fund its solid waste program and does not collect property taxes as a revenue source.
 Going with a larger fee and dropping thetax levy would give big landowners and commercial businesses in the county a break on property taxes. Some ranchers pay four times the amount of a residence for solid waste operations but don’t contribute four times as much trash.
 Commissioner Nate Marvin said doubling the solid waste fee would generate about $225,000, which would make up for the loss in property taxes if the solid waste tax levy were to go away. The figure was based on the assessor’s number of 3,138 residences in the county.
 He didn’t say he favored the fee hike, but it was merely an idea and a way to fund solid waste without collecting property taxes.
 Commissioner Lisa Collini said doubling the solid waste fee would be “quite a hit” for some property owners.
 “I don’t want to hit the people who can’t afford it,” she said.
 The county operates two transfer stations that accept trash and assorted debris and unwanted appliances, etc. The county road and bridge department hauls the trash to Clay Peak landfill in Payette County. The approved budget for the county’s solid waste operations in fiscal year 2020 is $630,000.
 Commissioners will discuss the fees again before making a decision.