Minutes 01-23-2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

John Roberts said yes. He said the municipalities would have to approve being included in the service district. PUBLIC COMMENT: Norma White lives in Little River Township, and she is against a tax service district. She said the Board of Commissioners exists for the cause of the common good and general welfare of the people. She said everyone can agree that schools, libraries and many County services exist for the common good and general County welfare, even if these are located in town and far from rural households. She said everyone pays, and no one gets to pick and choose what the common good is. She said everyone agrees that solid waste/recycling is an issue that is for the common good of the County, but it is not true that everyone pays. She said the Board of County Commissioners is turning this upside down. She said data shows that the rural areas are doing a fantastic job of recycling, and these areas have been telling the County for years that rural people do recycling differently. She said these residents use the SWCC for the common good, yet the rural people pay more. She said this discrepancy shoots down the common good concept. She said the tax differential has all of the appearances of an implicit special tax district, with unequal application of taxation to the rural areas and exclusion of the urban areas. She said the County now wants to impose another tax applied only to the rural areas. She said the County's pretense that the rural areas need and will overwhelmingly use curbside recycling is a faulty premise, as these areas have never been polled or surveyed. She said this is a stab in the dark, and the issue is a shortfall of money in the Solid Waste Department. David Laudocina lives in Bingham Township, and he urged the Board to find an equitable solution for curbside recycling rather than implementing a district tax based on property valuation. He believes progressive taxation is appropriate for some services, but curbside rural recycling is not a good fit. He said his property tax bill includes a flat rate for the 3-r fee and a flat rate for the waste center fee, and these charges are dependent on where you live in the County. He feels that the flat rate system for curbside is more consistent with the method used for other waste services. He said the magnitude of the difference in total dollars paid between properties using a district tax tied to property valuation grows as the tax rate increases over time. He said he hopes the policy of allowing use of the orange bins for rural recycling will be a reality, regardless of what system is implemented. He noted that property values have not been re-valued since 2009 to provide true property tax assessments. He said the Board has done a good job of holding the line on property tax increases. He believes it is prudent for the County to find a fairer, more equitable way to pay for rural curbside recycling and hold off on any property tax increases until the valuations are fair and balanced. Alex Castro said he is a senior resident of Bingham Township, and it seemed to him that the Board is messing with something that is working. He said recycling is working in Orange County, and now the Board is looking to spend a lot of money for changes that don't fit. He said that people given a choice will not opt-in; therefore if residents are not forced to do it, the population will not exist to sustain what is put in place. He asked the Board to think strongly about whether this is a good avenue. Bonnie Hauser said she lives in rural Orange County. She uses the SWCC for trash and recycling, and she composts at home. She said families in the unincorporated areas overwhelmingly prefer a voluntary fee over a service district tax. She said % of the families in the rural community prefer to use the convenience centers for trash, and they bring their recycling too. She said this is not about recycling rates, it is simply about the fact that curbside services don't work in much of the rural area. She said people should be able to opt out if they