Council Decides on Parcel Fee for Waste Ballot Measure in November

At the Special County Council meeting on Shaw Island on Tuesday, May 10, Council Member Patty Miller (Orcas East) prodded her cohorts to move ahead on the Solid Waste Subcommittee’s recommendation to put forth a parcel fee to fund the County’s Solid Waste Disposal system on all three major islands.

Miller’s urging came in light of approaching deadlines to formulate the ballot measure, which is one of the two approaches the Council had agreed upon in facing the declining revenues and operating loss of the county’s waste disposal system. The other option is to investigate the route-collected model for curbside garbage and recyclables, with no more financial obligation to maintain individual sites on Orcas, Lopez and San Juan Islands.

Miller, who chairs the Council’s Solid Waste Disposal subcommittee, opened the discussion of Solid Waste Disposal, by observing that even with the increases in tipping fees in 2010, the operations are running about $193,000 in the red for 2011. This is “driven by continued reduction in waste volumes” Miller said, which appears to be a national trend. “We just happen to be in the unfortunate situation that we had such small volumes to begin with, we now have very little margin for error.”

The subcommittee worked with the County’s Administrator, Auditor and Prosecuting Attorney, and came to the decision to “look for county-wide options not an island-by-island solution basis,” Miller said. It considered tipping fess, excise tax, property tax and sales tax among its options.

It was the subcommittee’s recommendation to the County to move forward with a ballot resolution in support of a county parcel fee rather than to create a solid waste district (which would operate with a property value assessment tax). The recommendation was primarily based on the limitation of specific laws requiring that “fees be based exclusively on a weight or volume measurement. This restriction severely limits the type and structur of the fees available,” according to the subcommittees’s report.

Miller said the subcommittee advanced a county parcel fee because it “seemed the most equitable method; the reality is the challenge of 5-6 years out.” She explained that as costs inflate, the price of either tipping fees or parcel fees would need to increase: “We can’t have a flat revenue source with an escalating cost structure.”

Council Member Rich Peterson asked what would happen if voters approved the ballot measure but there was a legal challenge after the November vote. The fee would still go into effect unless a stay is ordered, County Prosecutor Randy Gaylord explained. “And three could be a requirement to refund collected fees if a challenge prevails.”

Council Chair Lovel Pratt said she was” reluctant” to have San Juan County be the first county in Washington to institute a parcel fee. “I, would be a real risk we’d have to consider.”

She added, “I want to think about sales tax, not solely as a funding option to address revenue needs for solid waste, but in light of the information we’re getting on shortfalls in the general budget.”

Peterson suggested that voters might be more inclined to approve a parcel fee if free recycling was brought back. “If I’m going to vote for [a parcel fee], I want to get something I’m not now getting.”

When Miller suggested that a general obligation bond or a revenue bond could be passed, Gaylord said that the Council should also “speak to the question of voted, vs. non-voted bonds.”

Miller again argued for a parcel fee, saying it was necessary “not just because we’re making a capital investment; but because of the legacy capital debt and de-commissioning [the San Juan transfer station site].”

She said that Assessor Charles Zalmanek could provide codes that could be used as starting point, for determining what the parcel fees would be for different classes of parcels. “The clock is ticking on us;we have to have a [ballot] measure in place by Aug. 10, and [before that] we need… a decision on all variables,” Miller said.

“When pressed to delay the vote, Miller said, “We have to decide by today or next Tuesday — as well as how to solve the $193,000 [waste disposal deficit] problem.”

That prompted Council Member Howie Rosenfeld to state, “Having stared down barrel of gun for so long, I’m ready to go with the parcel fee.”

The motion to set the ballot measure in November as a  county wide parcel fee option, rather than to proceed with a solid waste disposal district, was proposed by Miller, and seconded by Rich Peterson.

The motion passed, with Council Chair Lovel Pratt abstaining.

Rich Peterson suggested that the Council direct County staff to develop an analysis to identify user classes for  parcel fees for solid waste system. and the Council voted unanimously in agreement..

The Council also agreed to a June 6 working session, to discuss, among other items, whether to use transfer stations or dropboxex, cost of San Juan Sanitation pickup vs. self-haul rates, and pursuit of capital investment on San Juan Island.

At the all-day meeting on Shaw, the Council members also discussed presentations of the County Budget, exemptions of the Ferry Advisory Committee (FAC)  from other county advisory committee regulations, County Charter Review and the redistricting process mandated by the 2010 U.S. Census. The group also made field trips to the Shaw Island recycling center, the Island School, which is considering expansion, and the Shaw County Park.

Budget
Council Member Richard Fralick (Orcas West) coordinated a presentation on the County’s budget situation.The Solid Waste Disposal system is operating at a $193,000 deficit, and with  permit revenues and county property and sales tax revenues down, a $600,000 to $900,000 shortfall in the General Fund is projected.

In the long-term prospect, David Kelly warned of the 35% increase in medical benefit costs to County employees, and advocated looking at other models, such as the State’s city and county associations of insurance pools.“We need to change how we’re doing business with health care coverage; one way is to look at belonging to an organization with lots of options, not just one or two,” Kelly said.

Ferry Advisory Committee

The proposed rule change for the FAC would allow its members to exchange emails in lieu of holding public meetings. FAC Council liaison Howie Rosenfeld said the exception was necessary for those times when the Washington State Ferries (WSF) sent out information requiring a rapid response.

Sharon Kvisto, publisher of the online news site, San Juan Islander, told the Council during the public comment period, “It’s a bad idea to give any committee the right to meet in secret.” She had filed a Freedom of Information request with the County for emails exchanged among County Ferry Advisory Committee (FAC) members.

Recycling

Also during the Citizen Access Time. the public spoke in their support of recycling. Shaw Islander Sharon Wootten said the islanders would like to see free recycling returned to the county budget,  and another attendee said, “We get almost nothing from the county in roads and law enforcement, we’d like that to be taken in consideration.”