Agenda - 02-18-2014 - 6a - Laserfiche WebLink

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21 1 means that the best estimates are that the participation rates will be lower than they are now. 2 She questioned what the expectations of the municipalities would be. She noted that the 3 municipalities have all residents participating, and she feels that the County needs to touch 4 base with the Town officials about this. 5 Commissioner Gordon said she understands the concern regarding the fact that vacant 6 properties will have to pay the fee. She said she would like to see a public hearing on the 7 service district. She said this would allow comments and would give time to provide more 8 information on the subscription service. 9 Commissioner Pelissier said the Board is between a rock and a hard place. She said 10 the County should have the right to levy a fee. She feels there are a lot of uncertainties, and 11 some of this information simply isn't out there. She said a decision simply has to be made how 12 to proceed, and she would like to mirror the Towns as much as possible. She said taxes are 13 always paid for services that not everyone uses. She said land owners don't use most of the 14 services they pay for, but there are things that just have to be accepted. She wants to see the 15 community maintain its commitment to recycling. She thinks the best option is to do a tax 16 district. She said a public hearing needs to be held sooner rather than later. 17 Commissioner Price said she concurs with the previous comments, and her main 18 concern is the increase of the fee. 19 Michael Talbert said the fee will go up no matter what option is chosen. 20 Commissioner Dorosin echoed Commissioner Pelissier's point. He thinks it is wrong to 21 think that one option is going to yield greater participation. He does think if this service is 22 important then the way to pay for it is through taxes. He would support a hearing on the service 23 district, and then the Board can take it from there. 24 Commissioner McKee said the main point is the commitment to recycling, and he is 25 most comfortable with providing an option to do this for a fee rather than an additional tax. The 26 cost will go up $20 a year, and that is not that much. 27 Chair Jacobs said he came to this meeting without a starting inclination, wanting to hear 28 what his peers had to say. He said he is inclined to stand by the principle of minimizing their 29 adverse impact on the environment. He said the way to do that is to provide the residents a 30 service that will make it easy for them to do the right thing. He is more inclined to talk about 31 having a district. 32 He said there needs to be a commitment to be more aggressive to providing a service to 33 those who pay for it. He said if the County is going to charge someone for a service, then that 34 resident should have the opportunity to use it. He said all of the yellow area should be served if 35 it is within the tax district, and if this has to be serviced by the general fund then this will be 36 done. 37 Michael Talbert said part of the process of establishing a service district is to come back 38 to the Board with a plan to serve everyone in yellow within a reasonable period of time. 39 Chair Jacobs said he is saying that this should be presented up front. 40 Commissioner Dorosin asked if there is any rough estimate for the amount of the tax for 41 a tax district. 42 Michael Talbert said the estimated property value within the district is $4.2 billion. He 43 said if the cost remains in the $600,000 range that would mean a tax rate of about 1.5 cents. 44 He said expansion to serve more areas may require additional trucks and crews, which would 45 mean more expense. 46 Chair Jacobs said it would be good to have a more detailed analysis of what will be 47 asked of people before the public hearing. He said he would like to see the cost per parcel, per 48 hundred dollars. 49 Michael Talbert said this is the next logical step, and if this is the pleasure of the Board, 50 it could be brought forward in January.