Agenda - 09-16-2014 - 6a - Laserfiche WebLink

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12 1 Gayle Wilson said that is correct. He said this is their calculation of what would 2 eliminate the general fund contribution for the SWCC. 3 Commissioner Gordon asked if this also funds the 24 hour sites. 4 Gayle Wilson said the SWCC fund only funds the staffed SWCC. He said the base 3 -R 5 fee funds the 24 hour centers. 6 Commissioner Gordon asked if the funding would have to be higher than the general 7 fund contribution in order to raise the funding from 25 percent to 100 percent and have the 8 SWCC pay for themselves without any other revenue. 9 Gayle Wilson said the general fund contribution makes up for the shortfall from the 10 existing rates and other miscellaneous revenues. He said the $1.8 million would complete 100 11 percent funding for the SWCC, including the Walnut Grove and Eubanks Road modernizations; 12 but it would not include any further modernizations. 13 Commissioner Gordon said the parts of the budget interact, and if you pull the SWCC 14 out of the solid waste fund as a whole, it would mean the fees would have to be even bigger 15 because there is other miscellaneous income. 16 Gayle Wilson said there are ways where the fees would have to be larger. He said the 17 facility operations and staffing are funded through the SWCC fee; however the trucks and the 18 drivers that come to serve the different components of recycling are paid for out of the recycling 19 budget. 20 Commissioner Gordon said it is possible to look only at the solid waste budget and say 21 that a general fund contribution should not be given. She said the numbers she gave would 22 accomplish this. 23 Gayle Wilson said that is the only general fund money that enters the enterprise fund. 24 Commissioner McKee said this brings up the question of why the SWCC were not fully 25 funded by the fees from the start. 26 Gayle Wilson said the history is that the sanitation division, which operates the 27 convenience centers, was part of the public works department until about 6 years ago. He said 28 when the solid waste department moved from Chapel Hill to the County it handled all solid 29 waste except for the convenience centers; and that separate division within public works that 30 was funded 100 percent from the general fund operated separately. He said there was a 31 reorganization 6 years ago to consolidate all activities into the solid waste department and there 32 was a larger general fund contribution that funded 100 percent for the first couple of years. He 33 said the Board of Commissioners then determined that they needed to begin to establish the 34 basics of a self funding mechanism for the sanitation division and wean it from the general fund. 35 He said the fees were initiated at a low level with the thought of increasing it over time, but no 36 schedule was established, and the fee has increased twice in that 6 year period. 37 Commissioner McKee said that answers his question. He said he feels the system is 38 confusing. 39 Commissioner Dorosin asked if the Board is supposed to make decisions about what to 40 do for rural recycling for next year, such as whether to have it, what will be the scope, and how 41 to pay for it. 42 Michael Talbert said all of this is in the budget. He said if the Board makes no decisions 43 and continues with the current services, funding with the reserves that are already in the 44 manager's budget, then the budget will just need to be approved. He said if the Board would 45 like to do something different, this would be the time to let staff know. 46 Commissioner Dorosin asked if that budget would keep the fees the same as described. 47 Michael Talbert said yes. He said the towns have agreed to levy a $59 fee for the urban 48 curbside and $19 for the multi - family fee; and the rural service would cost the taxpayers nothing 49 and will be paid for out of reserves.