HomeMy WebLinkAbout062623 TESTIMONY_ Solid Waste ordinance and Resolution re_ Doubling self-haul fees and weight allowance________________________________
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Commissioner Eisenhour,
At today’s hearing (June 26), you commented that Solid Waste’s proposal to double the minimum self-haul fee wasn’t really a “rate increase” because the amount of weight allowed by the
fee was also being doubled (from 120 to 240 lbs.)
While it’s true that the per-ton rate would be unchanged in the proposed scenario, please consider the fact that very few, if any, passenger cars have enough space to hold 240 lbs. of
solid waste.
I have a large hatchback sedan and, even with the rear seats folded flat, I have a hard time fitting 120 lbs. into the available space unless my load happens to include a particularly
dense item like a porcelain sink or toilet.
In other words, the 240 lb. allowance is a joke for anyone who doesn’t have a pickup truck or the ability to tow a trailer.
The limited-income folks you’re so rightly concerned about when it comes to doubling the minimum fee are also the ones more likely to have small cars; i.e., cars which would clearly
be unable to contain that much garbage.
I urge you to support the SWAC’s recommendation to first test a $5 increase and see if it has the desired effect of reducing traffic at the transfer station. In that scenario, the weight
limit would increase from 120 lbs. to 180 lbs.
If such a test achieves the desired result, then you will have saved county residents some money and extended the life of the transfer station for a few years while the new facility
is being built.
If the test does not show results, then the fees can always be adjusted again, this time by simple resolution, PROVIDED that such changes are developed in consultation with the SWAC
and not just conjured up by SW staff.
Thank you,
Tom Thiersch
Jefferson County, WA