Agenda - 01-23-2014 - 6a - Laserfiche WebLink

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5 1 encouragement from John Roberts, the attorneys may be willing to amend their budget 2 ordinances. 3 Michael Talbert said that just leaves a taxing district for the unincorporated areas. He 4 asked how the Board would like to proceed. He said this will be a lengthy and complicated 5 process. 6 Commissioner Dorosin asked if the towns set a limit for the fee. 7 John Roberts said the towns would be asked to delegate the fee setting authority to the 8 County. 9 Michael Talbert said this is what was done in the budget ordinance. 10 Commissioner Rich noted that this is an election season, and the recycling program is an 11 issue that comes up. She said she is under the impression that most people currently in office 12 and running for office do like the recycling program. 13 She said the County is between a rock and a hard place, because no one knows where 14 the town is headed. 15 She said the recycling program is the best in the state, and it would be a shame to lose it. 16 Michael Talbert suggested that staff draft a letter to all three towns, letting them know the 17 County would like to proceed with the district and continue recycling services as provided in the 18 past. He suggested the towns be provided with a copy of the ordinance passed by Chapel Hill, 19 as an example of a reasonable way to do this. 20 He said as soon as the County gets a commitment from all three towns, roll carts and 21 trucks can be purchased. 22 He said that this letter will put the intentions of the County out in the open. 23 Commissioner McKee said he is concerned about not knowing what the towns are going 24 to do. He said the thought the study had been released to the public this week. 25 He said he has reservations about moving forward without knowing what the town wants, 26 and he would suggest not doing anything until the proposal comes back from Chapel Hill. 27 He said there are no collection routes in the unincorporated areas of Orange County. He 28 said this means some people will be taxed for a service they cannot attain. He said this is not 29 the same as being taxed for a service that you choose not to use, as there is not equal access. 30 He would like details on how this issue will be addressed. 31 Michael Talbert said the town has made the proposal documents available for viewing at 32 a cost of 10 cents per page, and the proposal is very lengthy. 33 Commissioner Pelissier said she echoes the concerns about the municipalities. In 34 reference to the letter, she said she is not sure the elected officials in the municipalities are 35 aware of the timeline that would be involved. She said the letter would need to be very specific 36 about this timeline. 37 She said she does not know if this program is affordable without the towns' involvement. 38 She clarified that the tax district would only cover the area that currently has recycling. 39 Commissioner Price asked if the program would be financially feasible if it only involved 40 the County and the Town of Hillsborough. 41 Michael Talbert said this is not known yet. 42 Commissioner Gordon said Chapel Hill is looking at both solid waste and recycling. She 43 clarified that the County discussion about a solid waste tax district is only about recycling. 44 Michael Talbert agreed. He said the state law requires that it be called "solid waste." 45 Commissioner Gordon said she shares the concerns about what Chapel Hill may or may 46 not do. She is unsure of what to do about the timeline, as the goal of the town is to decide in 47 January. 48 Commissioner Gordon said if the County does not get a signal by November 21St, this 49 may have to wait until January. 50 Commissioner Dorosin asked if January is too late for a decision.