Agenda - 04-01-2014 - 5a - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

14 30. What is fair about having people who don't use the curbside recyding service having to pay for it? Those that use it should pay for it. There are many government services, if not most, whose use by any specific taxpayer and that taxpayer's financial contribution are not proportional. Not all taxpayers use the public library, but all contribute to its funding. In Orange County not all tax payers use convenience centers but all taxpayers(induding municipal residents) contribute to its funding, induding those non- residential property owners who are prohibited from using it. The question of fairness with regard to public funding and utilization of service is inherent in government services and benefits. It is the nature of public funding and a matter of perception. Like the funding for libraries or convenience centers, the service district tax is a way to offer a needed or desired service to a large group of residents without making the cost prohibitively expensive. 31. How many residents in Orange County contract for garbage service? This number is not known because private haulers are not required to report it and can be reluctant to reveal their proprietary business data. In the late 1990s, phone interviews by Orange County Public Works recorded about 5,000 reported private waste customers in the unincorporated area of the county. Another informal phone survey about five years ago by the Solid Waste Department came to a similar number, but those were based on non-binding responses from the private haulers of a range and remain only estimates of use of private waste hauling services. 32. How will the cost of the opt-out service be kept at a reasonable fee? The cost of the opt-out or subscription service option would presumably be fully funded by the subscribers, regardless of the level of the fee. Unfortunately, if the cost becomes too expensive some subscribers may cancel their service and/or new residents may choose not to enroll. If this happens the service fee would continue to escalate in order to achieve necessary levels of funding to operate the program, and the number of subscribers would continue to dedine. Alternatively, the Board could agree to supplement this program from the general fund when the service fee reached a certain level or the number subscribers become insufficient to sustain the recycling service. In that instance, municipal residents would then be subsidizing a rural service that they are not eligible to receive. 33. How long will it take to get ready for the opt-out subscription service? Will it cost more, less or about the same as the tax district?Sounds like more trouble. The County Manager has previously indicated that at least six months would be required to establish the opt-out service option. Given the Board's December 2013 declaration of intent to establish a service district (among other Board solid waste/recycling related priorities that are consuming staff resources) no preparatory work has been performed with regard to an opt-out option. There is still some uncertainty with regard to some of the details of implementation of an opt-out type service that would have to be resolved by the Board through discussions with staff and the approval of an implementation plan and subscription fee schedule. 7