By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
Solid waste fees are on the rise but what those increases will be hasn’t been set in stone yet.
The Crawford County Solid Waste District Policy Committee met at the County Engineer’s Office Thursday to discuss raising in-county, out-of-county, and generation fees for the Solid Waste District. Currently, the Solid Waste District operates the county’s recycling center by tacking on solid waste fees per tonnage. The conundrum the district faces, however, is that as more people recycle the less solid waste they will send to the landfill; the less solid waste that comes into the landfill means less revenue to operate the recycling center.
The Solid Waste District’s 2015 budget is expected to have a cash balance of $57,192.95 by the end of the year. This balance did not include carry over encumbrances, which would put the year-end cash balance near zero.
The projected 2015 year-end balance follows a trend of declining cash balances. The trend continued back to 2010 where it took a slight bump up from 2009 before dropping again in 2011.The Solid Waste District finished 2013 with $404,667.93 and ended 2014 with $206,117.73.
The declining cash balances can be pointed back to the county’s decision to adjust its fees. Disposal fees had been at $2 for in-county waste and $4 for out-of-county waste from 2006 to 2009. As the economy declined, the Solid Waste District chose to reduce the rates to $1 and $2.20, respectively, between 2010 and 2015.
“With the current plan we have, we basically adapted to the economy going bad,” said Mike Hall, committee member and program administrator for the Crawford Soil and Water Conservation District. The Solid Waste District absorbed the hit of decreasing fees in order to help county residents but now the cash reserves are dwindling. “We need to go back up,” Hall said.
“We were conscious of that (then) and adjusted it that way,” said Brian Rockwell, Director of the Solid Waste Management District. “The economy’s coming back a little bit and now it’s time to move them back to the level they were at.”
Currently, the Crawford County Solid Waste District has set its in- and out-of-county fees below that of competing solid waste districts at $1 in-county and $2.20 out-of-county. The state maxes out the disposal fees at $2 for in-county and $4 for out-of-county fees. Nearby counties that have set their fees at the state maximum include Wyandot, Wood, and Putnam counties.
The Policy Committee plans on moving the fees back up to the 2006 rates. Fees in 2015 will remain the same at $1 per tonnage for in-county waste and $2.20 per tonnage for out-of-county waste but the committee proposed raising the rates to $2 and $4, respectively.
The generation fee, which pertains to waste generated in Crawford County, currently sits at $2 per ton. The committee has proposed raising those fees to $3 from 2016 to 2020. After that a .50 cent increase was proposed for 2021 through 2025 and an additional .50 cent increase for 2026 through 2029.
The rates, however, are not set in stone. The committee decided to review the fees and the proposed 20-year Solid Waste fund forecast before making a decision. A meeting has been set for 3 p.m. on Feb. 5.