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Gayle Wilson said the urban solid waste program fee includes the cost for weekly <br /> curbside recycling program and all but one of the multi-family facilities. He said the rural <br /> component includes the rural recycling program and solid waste convenience center (SWCC) <br /> fees. He said one-third of the SWCC costs are covered in the urban portion, and the rural <br /> portion covers the remaining two-thirds. He said all of the rest of the services are split evenly. <br /> Gayle Wilson said the rural fee is higher because there are fewer residents to divide <br /> the fee. <br /> Gayle Wilson said the unincorporated areas are not going from nothing to $103. He <br /> said these residents are actually going from $87 to $103. <br /> Commissioner Price asked if it is possible to lower the fee below $100 in order to <br /> smooth the transition. <br /> Gayle Wilson said this could be done if the services and programs are reduced, or if <br /> the general fund takes on a greater share of the cost. <br /> Commissioner Price asked about the part of Mebane that is in Orange County. <br /> Gayle Wilson said this area is served by the Town of Mebane. <br /> Commissioner Price asked if expansion means that every household will be served. <br /> Gayle Wilson said the services will have to be made available to everyone if you are <br /> going to levy the same fee. <br /> Commissioner Pelissier said many rural residents live on roads that trucks may have <br /> trouble accessing. <br /> Gayle Wilson said the department has dealt with a wide variety of service access <br /> challenges. He said if an owner allows it, drivers will even go down private drives. <br /> Gayle Wilson said staff will continue to provide surveys through all phases of <br /> implementation, and those who want the carts will be able to use them. He said since the <br /> initial survey there have been 550 additional people requesting carts. He said staff will provide <br /> the quality and point of service that is best for the resident to the extent that it can be provided. <br /> Commissioner Pelissier said people could choose curbside pickup, convenience center, <br /> or both. <br /> Gayle Wilson said the Board had requested that residents be allowed to keep their <br /> bins, and this is being done as part of the surveys. <br /> Commissioner Jacobs said one of the things that was articulated was that they were <br /> balancing competing equities. He said one of these competing equities is that it costs more to <br /> go to every house in the County, but if people are paying for a service, they deserve to get it. <br /> He said, in using the general fund, property tax is based more on the worth of the <br /> property, and that is balanced into this equation with the mixture of general fund and straight <br /> fee. <br /> Commissioner Rich the reason the group brought these two options to the Board is to <br /> find out from them which option they favored heading into the March 26th Assembly of <br /> Governments (AOG) meeting. <br /> Commissioner Burroughs said there are merits to both options. She likes the <br /> description of equity discussed by Chair Jacobs. She said her interest is to find a solution that <br /> does not take money out of the reserves next year. She asked Gayle Wilson about the <br /> Carrboro meeting. <br /> Gayle Wilson said Carrboro favored option two. <br /> Commissioner porosin asked for clarification on the amounts coming from the general <br /> fund. <br /> Gayle Wilson confirmed that $1.85 million is coming from the general fund, and $6.2 <br /> million is coming from fees. <br />