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ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: March 18, 2014 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No. 5 -a <br />SUBJECT: Solid Waste Service Tax District— Public Hearing <br />DEPARTMENT: Solid Waste Management PUBLIC HEARING: (Y /N) Yes <br />ATTACHMENT(S): <br />Letter to Property Owners <br />Report Filed in Clerk to Board's Office <br />Including Map <br />Frequently Asked Questions <br />INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Michael Talbert, 919 - 245 -2308 <br />Gayle Wilson, 919 - 968 -2885 <br />John Roberts, 919 - 245 -2318 <br />1 <br />PURPOSE: To conduct the first of two public hearings, pursuant to North Carolina General <br />Statutes 153A -302, to receive comments with regard to the proposed establishment of a Solid <br />Waste Service Tax District in unincorporated Orange County. <br />BACKGROUND: In 2004 the Board of Commissioners approved a new method of funding for <br />the every other week curbside /roadside recycling collection program for about 13,000 <br />residences in unincorporated Orange County. At that time the Board adopted a fee to fund the <br />program, called a Rural 3 -R Fee, that all eligible residences were billed annually on their tax <br />bills. The fee was assessed to all eligible for the service, regardless of whether or how often a <br />resident used the service. <br />In 2012 the County Manager and the County Attorney advised the Board that they had concerns <br />regarding the statutory justification for assessing this fee and recommended that the Board <br />eliminate the fee and consider other ways to fund that program. The 2012 tax bill was the last <br />time the fee was assessed. The fee was $38 /year. In 2013 the Board provided an interim <br />funding for the program from landfill reserves. <br />Over the next several months the Board discussed various options on how to address this <br />funding problem. Elimination of the program was even considered, but unanimously abandoned <br />due to measured participation of the rural community of about 57 %. Some residents eligible for <br />this service chose not to recycle, others delivered their recycling to convenience centers and a <br />very few employed private haulers. It was also considered that the service was important in <br />order to meet the County's aggressive waste reduction goal of 61 %. <br />After considering and rejecting numerous funding alternatives, in December 2013, the Board <br />indicated intent to implement a solid waste service district tax as the means to replace the <br />