The Blaine County Commission will contemplate the first rise in garbage tipping fees in 14 years next week.
Two public hearings will he held to determine opinion on raising tipping fees for garbage haulers at the Southern Idaho Solid Waste District transfer station at Ohio Gulch.
The suggested tipping fee is $65 a ton for solid waste, an 18 percent increase from the current $55 a ton.
The fee hike was first proposed during a budget hearing in August, when Terry Schultz, former executive director of the district, told the commissioners that he expected the transfer station to encounter a $200,000 revenue shortfall for fiscal year 2011.
It costs the county an average of $80 per ton to process solid waste—$25 more than it charges.
Some of the shortfall is made up from the sale of construction waste, but construction waste has been down due to the recession, said Clear Creek Disposal spokesman Mike Goitiandia during the August budget hearing.
Schultz said increasing the fee by $10 a ton combined with current revenue from construction waste sales would cover the transfer station and recycling center's operating loss, stop reserve spending from being necessary to fund the recycling center and provide for outreach and education as well as administrative support. The increase will result in an estimated rise of $220,000 in the station's revenue.
As of press time, Goitiandia could not be reached for comment regarding how the county's proposed higher fees might affect valley residents whose garbage is hauled by Clear Creek Disposal.
However, both Schultz and County Commissioner Larry Schoen have said that the increased tipping fees will likely result in higher charges to customers, though any increase in fees would have to be dealt with through the various municipalities that contract with Clear Creek.
The public hearings will be held at 11 a.m. and 6: 30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 26, in the Old Blaine County Courthouse in Hailey.
Katherine Wutz: kwutz@mtexpress.com
