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58 <br />It is correct that all focus is currently on the bi- weekly curbside recycling service and staff has <br />not recently been directed to evaluate other service option for the proposed district. Given the <br />critical decision timeline necessary with regard to the rural curbside service, it is not likely that <br />other services will be considered at this time. However, this Board or any future Board, at its <br />discretion, may consider any number of programmatic variations of a service district in the <br />future. Staff is not aware of any longer term plans for other purposes. <br />45. Who determines the tax rate and when it may be raised? If it is the commissioners, is there a <br />requirement for public hearing prior to such action? <br />Only the Board of Commissioners has the authority to set a tax rate. The tax rate is set annually <br />as part of the budget process. Public hearings are held each year during the budget process to <br />provide opportunity for public input, including input with regard to the tax rate. <br />46. Why can't the county request an RFP from Waste Industries for outsourcing collection in the <br />rural area prior to the April 1 meeting? Couldn't we loosely tie the RFP to town proposals in <br />order to benefit from scales of economy? <br />Any RFP process is required to be a competitive process open to all qualified recycling collection <br />contractors and only negotiating with a single company would be contrary to state purchasing <br />law, absent an emergency situation. Such a process could not have been conducted in such a <br />short time frame as to have been ready by April 1. Furthermore, the RFP process conducted by <br />the Towns last summer resulted in several proposals being received, has led the Towns to <br />pursue an agreement with the county for providing the urban curbside services. So apparently <br />the Towns have determined that the county service, integrated as it can be with other county <br />services, including integration of the public education and outreach function, was cost <br />competitive with proposals received from the private sector. The county maintains a <br />considerable economy of scale with its county -wide compliment of services and programs. <br />47. What are the costs of opening the five convenience centers 7 days /week? <br />A brief evaluation of the cost to extend the hours of convenience centers to seven days /week <br />has resulted in an estimated cost of $400,000 to $440,000 per year increase over current <br />operating costs. A more thorough and detailed analysis should be conducted to develop budget <br />level cost estimates. The above estimate assumes 362 days per year operation, from 7am to <br />6pm. It should be noted that the convenience centers have never been open seven days /week <br />since their creation in the early 1090's. They have always been closed on Wednesdays for <br />employee training and site maintenance purposes. <br />There are a number of issues and assumptions that would have to be tested to confirm any cost <br />proposal, including garbage /trash service and storage capacity given our dependence on distant <br />waste transfer station disposal. Currently, with the available transfer station operations closing <br />at noon on Saturday until Monday, the waste collected at the centers Saturday afternoon and <br />Sunday afternoon must be stored until Monday disposal. Our storage capacity used is typically <br />at a maximum until we can dispose of the waste Monday morning. Opening Sunday morning <br />would require additional storage capacity that has not been incorporated into the above <br />estimates. There are certainly other, less extensive schedule of operation expansions that <br />could be considered. Staff would suggest a comprehensive analysis of such a major expansion of <br />hours at convenience centers prior to any serious discussion of such a decision. <br />11 <br />