Orange County NC Website
legislative package about solid waste asking the legislators for help. He feels that <br />the legislature has failed in helping the counties to recoup recycling costs. Gayle <br />Wilson said that they have not put a package together, but they stay up to date on <br />the legislation. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis said that we need to rise up and demand some <br />action. The County Commissioners need to know how they can help him because <br />the people do not want any more taxes. The public needs to be educated that <br />recycling is not free. He asked what other North Carolina counties are doing. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis asked about the closing of the MSW landfill in 2009 <br />and if there was a downsizing plan. Gayle Wilson said that there will be a transfer <br />facility and the waste will be transferred to out of county facilities. There will no <br />longer be an MSW landfill. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis said that he is very proud that the County is doing <br />the right thing, but it has come at a tremendous cost. He said that he is glad to hear <br />that the university has decided to use the County's services. The State has to be <br />part of the plan. It is casting the County a lot of money to get rid of recyclables, and <br />it should not be the County's expense. <br />Chair Brown asked about the $2.4 million and if this needs to be made up <br />every year. Gayle Wilson said that this is the recycling budget for this year and it <br />will vary. Things are happening on the revenue and expenditure side. Primarily, the <br />deficit is caused by the recycling program's failure to generate revenue. Chair <br />Brown verified that $2.4 million would be a fairly constant amount. <br />Chair Brown asked if this was going to be a tax increase and if the citizens <br />would see what it was for. John Link said that the staff needs to talk through this <br />first and bring it back. He asked Rod Visser to follow up and see if there are local <br />governments that use a separate tax instead of availability fees. <br />Chair Brown asked about the costs that have increased since the County <br />took aver solid waste. She would like a report back on this. <br />Commissioner Carey said that he noticed that all of these are fees and <br />asked about the intricacies of tax versus fees. He would like to get same <br />information from more experienced counties. Gayle Wilson said that they would rely <br />on the legal staff for assistance in this. He said that they would try and find some <br />governments that use district taxes. <br />Commissioner Gordon said that this will not be cheap, but it will be a <br />noticeable tax increase. She made reference to the statement, "failure to implement <br />in 2003-04 could result in major program reductions" and said that we have to put it <br />in a timeframe that is not too long. She said that this is not going to be good news <br />to people. She would like to find a way to reduce prepackaged items. <br />Chair Brown said that the LOG passed a resolution directly addressing this <br />issue. It addressed prepackaging and it was based on a European model. <br />Commissioner Jacobs said that we have a legislative goals subcommittee of <br />this Board and they could have a legislative position about solid waste. He said that <br />the Board could put together a package that could be forwarded to the Association <br />