Solid waste fees approved

Fee structures yet to be set

By FRITZ MAYER

MONTICELLO, NY — There was more than a bit of discontent about the prospect of the county imposing a fee on every building for the purpose of paying for the solid waste system. The towns of Highland and Tusten passed resolutions opposing the fees and of the dozen or so residents who turned out at a meeting on November 12 to comment, all but one were opposed.

Seven of the county legislators were not moved, at least not enough to change their votes. Citing an urgent need to confront the county budget and specifically that part that goes to pay down the $40 million debt from the landfill, and the millions it costs to operate the county solid waste system every year, they voted to approve the measure. Two lawmakers, David Sager and Alan Sorensen, voted against it.

The legislature must still vote to approve a fee structure, the details of which remain to be worked out.

When the fees are approved, residents may start getting bills for the new fees in January, perhaps at a cost of about $182 per year for a single family home, and somewhat less for seasonal homes and apartments. Businesses will not get the bills until April, which will allow county staff more time to work out the pricing scheme.

Among the most often repeated complaints of the new system is that a single person who lives alone and generates little solid waste will be required to pay as much, for instance, as a family of six that generates a lot of waste.

Legislator Leni Binder countered that argument by comparing the solid waste user fee to a tax. She lives alone but pays as much tax as a family with several members that lives in a similar-sized home. She said it’s part of the cost of living in a community.

Another big complaint about the user fee system, with zero tipping fee as now envisioned, is that residents will have less incentive to recycle because there will be no additional cost to throwing recyclables in with the unrecyclable trash.

County manager David Fanslau said he believes the county will move to more aggressive recycling enforcement in the near future because it’s a necessary step to keep expenses down. In fact, in the tentative budget he submitted on November 15, Fanslau urges legislators to consider strict measures that would encourage recycling, such as the mandatory use of clear plastic bags, rejection of bags that contain recyclable materials and the institution of incentives that would reward residents for recycling.