Supervisor: Landfill fees aren't high enough
NORWICH – Town of Preston Supervisor Peter C. Flanagan was adamant again last week about the need to raise user fees at the county’s landfills.
The Democrat and his fellow party members on the Public Works Committee have made motions each year since 2004 to raise the $55 per ton and $1.25 per bag fees. The motions have been killed by the full Chenango County Board of Supervisors, however.
Longtime committee Chairman Harry W. Conley and others opposed to raising fees say higher prices would drive customers away. The current fee, which has remained steady for 12 years, is lower than the original $70 a ton set 14 years ago.
At a meeting of the committee Thursday, Flanagan said, “I want to point out that we are not making ends meet. We keep charging the levy for digging holes. As long as we don’t raise the fees, we will always be going back to the levy.”
Flanagan’s ire was prompted during a discussion of Cell 3 development at the Pharsalia Solid Waste Landfill - scheduled to begin next year - as well as a survey of tipping fees charged in neighboring counties. Supervisor James B. Bays, D-Smyrna, had requested the comparison report last fall.
The new cell’s construction is estimated to cost $1.7 million plus design and inspection fees. Officials also estimate $1 million in closure costs for Cell 2. Both phases of the project will rely on set aside DPW funds and county surplus.
The landfill brought in $1.5 million last year. Flanagan estimated that taxpayers will pay for “at least 1/2 the cost” to build Cell 3. DPW Director Randy Gibbon said the county would not bond for the project.
Flanagan pointed out that the original plan when deciding to build the landfill was to have users support its future growth, not the levy.
“The user fee concept has never been used in practice like it was intended to,” he said.
Town of McDonough Supervisor Homer Smith said the county should have been raising fees a little all along. “If we had been doing that, we wouldn’t need to raise taxes so high when we are going to need to at a later date,” he said.
Flanagan and Smith said taxpayers would most probably be burdened with a $3 million Cell 4 in 2012.
A comparison of tipping fee rates per ton in adjacent counties shows Broome at $40; Cortland at $60; and Madison at $62. There are no tipping fees in Delaware County.
The Democrat and his fellow party members on the Public Works Committee have made motions each year since 2004 to raise the $55 per ton and $1.25 per bag fees. The motions have been killed by the full Chenango County Board of Supervisors, however.
Longtime committee Chairman Harry W. Conley and others opposed to raising fees say higher prices would drive customers away. The current fee, which has remained steady for 12 years, is lower than the original $70 a ton set 14 years ago.
At a meeting of the committee Thursday, Flanagan said, “I want to point out that we are not making ends meet. We keep charging the levy for digging holes. As long as we don’t raise the fees, we will always be going back to the levy.”
Flanagan’s ire was prompted during a discussion of Cell 3 development at the Pharsalia Solid Waste Landfill - scheduled to begin next year - as well as a survey of tipping fees charged in neighboring counties. Supervisor James B. Bays, D-Smyrna, had requested the comparison report last fall.
The new cell’s construction is estimated to cost $1.7 million plus design and inspection fees. Officials also estimate $1 million in closure costs for Cell 2. Both phases of the project will rely on set aside DPW funds and county surplus.
The landfill brought in $1.5 million last year. Flanagan estimated that taxpayers will pay for “at least 1/2 the cost” to build Cell 3. DPW Director Randy Gibbon said the county would not bond for the project.
Flanagan pointed out that the original plan when deciding to build the landfill was to have users support its future growth, not the levy.
“The user fee concept has never been used in practice like it was intended to,” he said.
Town of McDonough Supervisor Homer Smith said the county should have been raising fees a little all along. “If we had been doing that, we wouldn’t need to raise taxes so high when we are going to need to at a later date,” he said.
Flanagan and Smith said taxpayers would most probably be burdened with a $3 million Cell 4 in 2012.
A comparison of tipping fee rates per ton in adjacent counties shows Broome at $40; Cortland at $60; and Madison at $62. There are no tipping fees in Delaware County.
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