Agenda - 05-08-2014 - 6a - Laserfiche WebLink

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5 1 and disparate groups. She said 57 percent of property owners use curbside recycling at least 2 once a month, and 43 percent find curbside recycling impractical and many of these use the 3 convenience centers. She believes a solution can be found that is more equitable and meets 4 the needs of more residents. 5 2. Changing conditions such as the new funding laws, lost revenue from the landfill and the 6 need for new equipment offer the opportunity to re-evaluate how we do business —to benefit 7 from economies of scale and create more tightly integrated and cost effective programs. 8 She said this is supported by the Commission for the Environment, but it is not built into this 9 solution. She said the County should be working more closely with the towns, which would 10 allow this issue to be approached based on use patterns rather than jurisdiction. 11 3. Changing conditions also offer us a chance to look at new technologies — including the 12 opportunities to have trash and recycling picked up at the same time. 13 4. More complete data and information, presented in a user-friendly way is necessary to make 14 this a transparent process and inform members of the community about the costs, benefits and 15 trade-offs of these decisions. 16 Ken Robinson said he does recycle everything, and because of this he only makes one 17 trip a month to the convenience center to take trash. He said he is hearing that the funding 18 source is lost, and that needs to be fixed; however the focus needs to be on improving recycling 19 and not just working to get some more money. He said he has tried curbside, and it didn't 20 work. He does not think this is the way to go. He said help should be given to those who need 21 it and have no alternative. He said the Board should look at ways to improve recycling and not 22 just collect funds. He suggested a fee-for-service system, and he said he would like to see the 23 County restore more days at the convenience center. He said if funding is needed, then a small 24 tax should be done for all, not just for some. 25 Jeanette O' Conner said she is in favor of the service tax district, and the successful 26 counties use a tax such as this. She said an opt-out system tends to decrease the amount of 27 material being recycled. She said successful counties have some sort of tax. 28 Tracy Noonan said she is in support of recycling; however she is not in support of either 29 of these options. She understands the subscription service has its limitations and a tax district 30 based on tax value seems very unfair. She said a home value does not determine how much a 31 person recycles. She would be interested in knowing the average home value in the proposed 32 district. She said she is fine with paying a fee for a service but not a fee that is much higher 33 than what she is paying now, with no new improvements. She feels there is a hidden increase 34 for a lot of the residents, and she does not think this is fair. She suggested the use of a straight 35 fee or a tiered tax system. 36 Ed Sirkee said he believes the Board has already made up their minds to raise taxes. 37 He said the original literature stated that the manager and attorney had concerns in 2012 that 38 the fee was illegal. He asked why the Orange County waste control center fee is allowed, and 39 not the 3-r fee. He asked what would be required to change the statutory requirements. He 40 does not feel that Orange County can justify a recycling collection with a tax increase. He said 41 a retired couple on a fixed income living in a house with a value of$280,000 would pay more 42 than a family of 4 living in a house with a tax value of$200,000. He said this does not make 43 any sense, and it is unjust. 44 Teresa Edwards lives on White Cross Road, and she said this proposed system does 45 not make sense. She said she speaks for 5 of the 6 homes in her community, and all of the 46 residents are avid recyclers. She said it does not make sense to pay for a service that will 47 never be used. She said the residents live on a private gravel road, and her house, which is the 48 closest to the road, is still four-tenths of a mile from the curb. She said if she is going to put the 49 materials in her car, she is going to take it on to the convenience center. She asked for a