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Solid Waste Fees
Chatham County Waste Management Division (WMD) Fiscal Year 2005-2006 Revenue Sources
The Chatham County Waste Management Division is an Enterprise Fund meaning it relies on fees for its funding. For the
fourth year, the WMD will receive no general fund tax dollars. The following fee structure was implemented to fund all the WMD services, not just the operation of the 12 collection centers.
Unoccupied dwelling units that do not have utilities (water, electric, septic/sewer) may apply for a waiver from the availability and disposal fees. An application must be filed with the Tax Office before the fees will be waived. Contact (919) 542-8250 (ext. 8401) to request an application. All applications must be submitted to the Tax Office no later than November 15, 2005.
Availability Fee (AVF): A flat fee of $81 per dwelling unit is charged to all homeowners in the unincorporated areas of the County. This fee generates revenues to cover the operating costs of keeping the 12 collection centers available throughout the County. The fee also covers a portion of the cost of other Waste Management Programs (e.g. education, environmental enforcement, LCID landfill, household hazardous waste, yard waste, white goods and scrap tire management) that are available to all County residents.
Disposal Fee (LFT): A flat fee of $34 per dwelling unit is charged to all homeowners in the unincorporated areas of the County who rely on the collection centers as their principal legal source for household waste disposal. Private haulers provide lists of their residential customers (to waive this fee) as part of their annual permitting process. This disposal fee generates revenues to cover the costs of disposing (tipping fee) waste from the collection centers.
Equipment Reserve: In fiscal year 98-99, the County created a special reserve for the purchase of large capital items such as compactors at the centers, hauling vehicles, and other heavy equipment. These items are costly but essential to the division’s operations. Planning for future replacement and setting aside adequate funding helps ensure uninterrupted service. This method of financing large expenditures prevents the County from having to adjust fees significantly to cover the costs of equipment replacement.
This amount is equal to the expected capital
purchases for this year.
General Fund: In years past, General Fund monies (tax dollars) were used to help pay for the programs that benefit the entire County population such as HHW, Environmental Enforcement, and Education. These supplemental dollars also supported the extra use on the 12 collection centers by town residents for recycling, bulky items, tires, appliances, scrap metal, and motor oil. This is the
fourth fiscal year when no “tax dollars” will be contributed to the WMD.
Grants/State Funding: The County uses grant money as well as advanced disposal fees (fees paid by consumers at time of purchase to assist in proper disposal of appliances and tires) to assist in covering the cost of special programs such as White Goods and Tires.
Recycling Revenues: The revenues from the sale of recyclables offset only a portion of the cost of the County’s recycling program.
The revenue received fluctuates due to
market prices and the amount of recyclables
received.
Fund Balance: This is the Waste Management Divisions Reserve or Savings Account. It can be used as a means to balance all shortfalls in the budget.
Misc. Revenues: The revenues generated from mulch sales, transfer from reserve and tipping fees at the LCID are directly tied to the expenditures incurred by the WMD Facility.
The tipping fee for yard waste and inert debris
is $20/ton. A $2.00 minimum scale charge will apply to all scale transactions for yard waste and inert debris.
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