12/20/2006: "Garbage Goes Down, Rates Go Up"

What do garbage and the state ferry system have in common? Okay, perhaps a number of things come to mind, but one thing at some level is: irony. When the ferry system raises fares, ridership goes down, but according to Bob Distler, the money collected goes up. At a public hearing Tuesday on a proposed 9% fee increase (Previous story), Solid Waste Manager Ed Hale told the CC (County Council), that when the efficiency of re-cycling goes up, the cost to the County to run the solid waste program goes…down.

Councilman Rosenfeld response to the news was that "it is insane that when we reduce our waste we reduce our income". So what to do? Raise the rates to cover rising costs of labor, transportation, and general costs attributed to inflation, or, as suggested by the SWAC (Solid Waste Advisory Committee), come up with a new funding source.

One possible source is a county wide tax to fund the solid waste programs. At a recent SWAC meeting there was a call for the Council to impose a tax to fund the programs. PW (Public Works) said that some other counties charge a fee for re-cycling, or have a "gate fee" to enter a dump. One of the members said that when fees are raised, it is more likely there will be less use of the dump, and more dumping on vacant land and along side of roads; a concern that was echoed by Island Guardian columnist Gordy Peterson at the public hearing. Peterson also told the Council that the Council's solution to any problem seems to be to increase fees, and suggested that they look toward more efficient county government before they raise fees or taxes.

Chairman George Post of SWAC told the CC that for years SWAC has come before them and presented ideas and asked for action, but never, according to Post have they heard one word back from them. Obviously frustrated, Post said the solid waste program was heading into a "death spiral" that they cannot pull out of without a new source of income, or a reversal of the current direction the program is heading.

Adding to the problem Post said, is the need for a new transfer station on San Juan Island -a proposition that is hotly debated by some in the community, but a direction the CC has indicated they support. Post pointed out that the solid waste program is dependent on collection of fees alone, and the amount collected is insufficient to run the program.

When public testimony was closed, and after the Council discussed the matter, Chairman Lichter asked the Council what they wanted to do. Councilman Rich Peterson summed up the mood of the Council when he stated that " I think we can get to a place where we don't have to keep raising fees, but in the next year we need to work with SWAC on some of their ideas", but in the meantime they needed to go forward with the proposed increases now. Motion was made, and motion was passed to increase the current fees by 9%.