Agenda - 09-03-2002 - 8d - Laserfiche WebLink

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r ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: September 3, 2002 Action Agenda Item No. -� SUBJECT: Collection of Solid Waste Fees, Fines, and Penalties DEPARTMENT: Solid Waste Management/ PUBLIC HEARING: (YIN) No County Attorney ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: Resolution Gayle Wilson, 968-2885 Goof Gledhill, 732-2196 TELEPHONE NUMBERS: Hillsborough 732-8181 Chapel Hill 968.4501 Durham 688-7331 Mebane 336-227-2031 PURPOSE: To approve a resolution authorizing the Solid Waste Management Department to perform collection activities necessary to collect solid waste fees, fines, penalties and to perform other necessary enforcement activities as provided in Orange County laws and ordinances. BACKGROUND: The Solid Waste Management Department assesses and collects various fees, surcharges, penalties, fines, etc. in the normal conduct of County solid waste activities. The collection of these revenues is typically conducted without difficulty. Those payments that do become past due are usually dealt with by phone calls, reminder letters, suspension of landfill privileges, negotiation of payment plans, etc. Infrequently, some customers fail to fulfill their financial obligations despite these additional inducements. The recent adoption of the Regulated Recyclable Materials Ordinance and related permit, license and penalty fees will likely lead to more frequent need for collection action, at least in the near term. Staff and the Attorney recommend that the Board grant authorization to Department staff to pursue collection of these seriously overdue accounts and non-responsive debtors, as a last resort, through necessary collection activities consistent with Orange County laws and ordinances. Generally speaking, the statutory remedies available to the Orange County Tax Collector to pursue seriously delinquent property tax accounts are not available or appropriate for collection of delinquent landfill accounts. Accordingly, any collection action the Department might need to pursue would likely be through Small Claims Court handled by departmental staff or other civil action pursued by the County Attorney. The Attorney has prepared a resolution which, if approved, would provide the requested authorization to Solid Waste Management Department staff.