Agenda - 01-16-1997 - 1 - Laserfiche WebLink

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64 Comments: There was no consensus from residents as to the preferred financing mechanism to be used by the County to pay for solid waste services in rural Orange County. Residents maintained the opinion that property taxes should help support the cost of the solid waste program but realized or were resigned to the fact that property taxes could not continue to pay all costs associated with the program. Many people seemed excited over the possibility of joint city/county participation in managing solid waste collection and financing but were highly skeptical that any agreement could be reached to do so. - Most people wanted a financing system that could be implemented with as little change and bureaucracy as possible. These people viewed the flat household fee as their preference because"everyone" paid for the program and had access to the same disposal and recycling system, and fees could be collected as a surcharge on the property tax. Supporters poinLed out that other counties used a household fee to help finance their programs. Dissenting views pointed out that household fees charged everyone the same regardless of waste generation and provided no incentive to recycle or reduce the amount of waste that individuals or families produce. - Each group, club, committee, etc., had one, two, or three supporters for a volume-based or a pay-per-throw fee system. These individuals realized that this financing system offers the most incentive to waste reduction because each resident is charged for the actual amount of waste that they produce based on volume or weight. However, for each supporter of this system, there seemed to be at least twice as many residents that were in opposition to that option. The opposition foresaw a tremendous increase in illegal disposal, burning, and littering. Some people even saw illegal disposal becoming as rampant in rural areas as it had been prior to the time that Orange County installed the original"greenbox" disposal system. Summary: As stated earlier, no consensus of public opinion surfaced except for citizens' preference for solid waste convenience centers over the universal collection system. Citizens are comfortable with the current convenience centers and although somewhat skeptical of the compactor140 cubic yard container collection model, prefer the flexibility of convenience center use and disposal. Residents seem resigned to the fact that solid waste services in Orange County will no longer be perceived to be free and"hidden'' as part of an individuals' property tax, but they offered no real preference for how they would like to pay for additional solid waste fees or alternative financing options. Despite the number of citizens that attended meetings or were mailed information, high public interest in solid waste topics, and the impact on citizens when current options are implemented, there was a surprising lack of input or alternative ideas from citizens. Although limited, most comments made by different groups seemed to have similar messages and common themes as described above. Should you have questions or need additional information, please contact me at Orange County Public Works.