Agenda - 05-05-2015 - 6a - Laserfiche WebLink

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7 1 foundational to the solid waste program in reducing the waste stream, and because of this she 2 is less inclined to agree that it makes sense to pay proportionally. She said it is important to 3 send a message about the value of reducing the waste stream. She said she does not want to 4 ask people to pay more for the services that they do not have, when those same people have 5 been subsidizing those services by others by virtue of the fact that they have not had them. 6 She said there have been investments in the towns before the rural areas, and this investment 7 has included the wear and tear on rural resident's cars as they travel to the convenience 8 centers, and it has been on their time and the neglect on the waste stream in rural areas. She 9 said the towns are just going to return that investment. 10 Alderman Chaney said the fee is going to be lower under either one of these options, 11 and single family properties will pay lower fees, so a lot of people will already see savings. She 12 said both plans put a higher burden on the commercial sector, and to some degree, the multi - 13 family sector, which is somewhat troubling. However, she said these are also the sectors with 14 the highest burden on the system. She said single fee system allows a reduction in stress on 15 some users, and sends a clear message to others that the goal is increasing service and better 16 meeting needs. She said she is not opposed to a pilot program, but she thinks this pilot should 17 be the single fee system, and it should be for three years, to allow for more data. She said the 18 data should be about real cost, and if fuel cost is going to be considered, the fuel cost for 19 residents using the SWCC should be considered. 20 Commissioner Price said she agreed with Alderman Chaney. She noted that option 1 21 will mean that rural residents will pay $24 more for a service they will not get for three years, 22 and this is unfair. 23 Commissioner Dorosin said the two tiered system is inherently divisive. He said this is a 24 place where a one - size - fits -all would work. He said he is not sure a pilot program is needed, 25 but if it is, it would need to go longer than a year. He said everyone feels there is some service 26 they are subsidizing but not using. He said a single fee makes sense, and this is where it 27 should start. 28 Commissioner Jacobs said the County does subsidize 700 households, and this could 29 be looked at as just the start. He said one component that is not quantified is the educational 30 component, and this could be built upon. 31 Commissioner Jacobs said there are a lot of issues involved in the solid waste 32 enterprise that could do with more analysis. He does not understand the necessity of a pilot 33 program, but he thinks there should be a requirement to scrutinize all of the numbers and 34 assumptions. He said Orange County will be upgrading and re- opening the Eubanks SWCC 35 next year, and the number of users from the towns will increase over time. He said the smart 36 thing to do is to take a comprehensive look at this as it goes along, and there may be a need 37 for reasonable changes to some of these components. He said these are the numbers and 38 data that have to be used right now. 39 Commissioner Jacobs said there are many other weighty issues, but recycling is 40 something that everyone agrees is a high value for the community. He said nothing has to be 41 decided tonight, but it will be important next week for the respective boards to have given some 42 indication of where they want this to go. 43 Commissioner Jacobs said that he went into the process with the SWAG thinking that 44 either option was fine, but he was persuaded by other representatives about the benefit of one 45 flat fee. Commissioner Jacobs said too much has been spent talking about the urban -rural 46 divide. He said there is also too much time spent talking about who is putting something over 47 on someone else. He said it is important to be united and look at the bigger picture. He said 48 this is an example of how to start moving in that direction. 49 Commissioner Jacobs said he has been convinced to go with option 2.