(A) Authorized fees.
(1) The county is hereby authorized in its executive capacity to establish fees and penalties for the receipt of any solid waste or unacceptable waste at a county facility. Fees or penalties established hereunder may be changed whenever the county deems it necessary or expedient to do so.
(2) The County Commissioners may authorize the Department to adjust fees on March 1 of each year to be effective on the following July 1 to recover the actual cost of the operation of all solid waste management services provided by the county. If this authorization is given, the Department shall establish as the solid waste management fee a charge that is the result of the Department’s determination of the projected actual cost of solid waste services divided by the total tonnage of municipal solid waste projected to enter the county landfill in the next fiscal year. (Actual cost is comprised of the proposed budgets of those agencies of county government whose duties are solely related to providing solid waste services, that portion of the budgets of agencies of county government that may be attributable to the provision of solid waste management services, any surplus or deficit, depreciation, annualized cost of future development and closing, annualized cost of future facilities, and if not previously accounted for herein, the cost of hazardous waste disposal, composting, and recycling.)
(3) In addition, solid waste management fees may be calculated and established on any portion of the waste stream by providing different fees for different categories of waste. If separate fees are established for different categories of solid waste, the anticipated revenue from these fees shall be used by the Department in establishing the solid waste management fee. In addition, the Department, if authorized to adjust the solid waste management fee pursuant to this section, may adjust any fee established hereunder and establish new fees.
(B) Types of fees.
(1) Solid waste management fee. Solid waste, including any component of the waste stream, may be assessed a management fee when delivered to the county landfill or other county facility. These fees are in addition to any permit or license fee.
(2) Special handling wastes. Special handling wastes will be assessed a management fee when delivered to the county landfill. This fee is in addition to any solid waste management fee, permit, or license fee.
(3) MRF residue. Residue from the processing of a MRF shall be subject to a solid waste management fee in an amount established in a contract between the county and the operator of the MRF. If there is no contract or the contract does not address a fee for MRF residue, the fee shall be as established pursuant to division (A) above.
(4) Mixed loads. The fee for any load containing more than one category of waste shall be equal to the fee that would be required for disposal of the load requiring the highest fee. The county may reduce or waive this surcharge if the hauler demonstrates to the reasonable satisfaction of the county that the mixing of waste was not due to the fault or negligence of the hauler and that the hauler has made best efforts to prevent such mixing in the future.
(5) Additional fees. An additional fee of $100 per hour may be assessed to the hauler of any load of waste which requires any assistance.
(C) Customer notice. A hauler shall include on each invoice to a residential customer a specific statement that informs the customer of the amount of the county’s solid waste management fee. For example, if the fee is $40 per ton, the notice must read: “The fee charged by the county for each ton of solid waste we dispose of is $40. It is estimated that each household generates one and one-half tons of solid waste per year without recycling.”
(2004 Code, § 185-6) (Ord. 94, passed 5-21-1992; Ord. 114, passed 4-14-1994; Ord. 02-08, passed 4-25-2002)