Proposed Solid Waste Price Changes Come Before County Commissioners
 | Author:
Nancy Marks
Nancy Marks: MT43 News Secretary and News Editor |
Proposed Solid Waste Price Changes Come Before County Commissioners
MT 43 News Staff Reporter
Rising Costs for fuel and inflation for the county solid waste department are the reasons Director TJ Graveley gave for raising various fees residents now pay.
He presented proposed changes to Broadwater County Commissioners at their regular November 15 meeting at the Flynn Building.
Graveley has proposed fee increases for tire, refrigerator and air conditioner disposal. The largest change would be a new $10 fee for 300 pounds of non-household trash hauled to either the transfer station or any of the five solid waste sites. Non-household trash includes construction materials, and agricultural waste, among other items. The full list is available on the Solid Waste website.
The non-household trash loads would be billed at the sites as county employees do not have access to credit card or currency collection.
He also proposed a $10 fee for every pickup load of trees. Graveley explained his costs of burning trees at the landfill include paying employees to load the ash for transfer to one of the Helena recycling plants.
Graveley will hold public meetings to present the proposed changes.
County Administrator Bill Jarocki wondered when changes were last made to the fee schedule. Graveley speculated the last changes were made in 2019. Deputy County Attorney Jania Hatfield explained that under Montana law, the county is allowed to raise fees.
Commissioner Darrel Folkvord suggested that the commissioners’ past decisions on raising fees were not helpful. “We should have set small fee increases every year instead of big changes all at once,” he said.
A public meeting addressing solid waste fee increases will be announced.
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PhotoCredit: Photo Credits: Nancy Marks
Image 1 Caption: Transfer Station Fees May Be Rising
Photo Credits: Nancy Marks
