District passes on tipping fee increase

A solution to financial concerns for a local group won't include an increase in fees - at least not right now.

Members of the Jay County Solid Waste District board of directors passed Monday on the chance to increase the district tipping fee.

That fee of $1.25 per ton of trash deposited in the Jay County Landfill is collected and paid to the district by landfill owner/operator Waste Management of Indiana.

Facing increasing costs and a decline in revenue tied to a drop in landfill volume, four of seven district board members discussed financial concerns and the possibility of raising the fee.

Milo Miller Jr., president of the district board and Jay County Commissioners, said he had discussed the issue privately with Barry Ledbetter, a district manager for Waste Management who oversees the local landfill.

"The economy kinda backfired on everybody," said Miller of the drop in landfill volume and district income.

Ledbetter, who regularly attends waste district meetings, said Monday the company appreciated the lowering of the tipping fee (from $1.50) several years ago and valued its relationship with the district. "We have some concerns (with an increase). We're looking for ways to decrease our costs," Ledbetter said.

Waste Management builds the tipping fee into the fee charged to those dumping trash in the local landfill, and then passes the money along to the district. The company has in the past expressed concerns that an increase in the tipping fee will make it less competitive when bidding for trash contracts.

"Let's try to hold off until about June," board member Bill Gibson said. "If it doesn't improve by then ... we're going to have to (raise the tipping fee)."

Board members Faron Parr, Jim Zimmerman, Miller and Gibson agreed by consensus to table the issue.

Gibson and Miller said before the meeting that neither was ready to impose a tax or user fee to subsidize the district's operations, which are focused largely on recycling and environmental education efforts.

After approving more than $27,500 in monthly claims Monday, the district is left with just $15,258.03 in its checking account, along with $102,550.64 in an investment account.

While the district has spent more than it has received over the past nine months or so, the investment should allow operations to continue for at least the next year.

Miller said that if funding becomes an issue, "we'll just have to shut it down."

In other business, district director Kay Hayes presented a breakdown on annual costs for two of the district's most prominent recycling program - Saturday drop-off, and containers at schools.

The total cost of the Saturday program, which features drop-off locations around the county, is $94,082.38. That includes costs paid to a hauler to transport the materials collected, a $150 per-day fee paid to not-for-profit groups that staff the sites, and year-end bonuses paid to those groups.

Trailers are located in Bryant, Dunkirk, Pennville, Portland, Redkey, Salamonia and at Bloomfield Elementary School, rural Bryant.

The cost of paying an annual stipend and hauling collection boxes to and from the county's nine public schools, along with an Amish school in Jackson Township and the Jay Community Center, totaled $12,833.76.

Also Monday, board members:

•Heard Hayes report that she has sent letters to groups that staff Saturday trailers in Pennville and Redkey. Those letters state that unless volume rises, the trailers in those communities could be reduced to one per month. Both communities currently have trailers available on two Saturdays each month.

•Learned that administrative assistance Jill Hall is working on developing a new website. The site will be hosted on webs.com, a free hosting site. That switch will save the district about $600 annually. The new address is http://jaycosolidwaste.webs.com

•Re-elected the same slate of officers for 2010. Miller will continue as president, with Gibson vice president and Zimmerman as secretary.

[[In-content Ad]]