Solid Waste Solution: Still in the Sausage-Making Stage

Updated June 25 at 12 p.m.

An interview with San Juan County Council Member Patty Miller, Chair of the Solid Waste Sub-committee

Another ingredient was added to the county’s solid waste discussion this week when County Prosecutor Randy Gaylord informed the County Council that property owners in the town of Friday Harbor would not be included in collecting a parcel fee for waste disposal. The parcel fee and its structure are components of the ballot measure the Council plans to put before voters this November to address the financial losses of the county solid waste disposal utility.

The county’s waste disposal operations have been running at a substantial deficit for the last two years. Attempts to come up with a solution are currently spear-headed by the Council’s Solid Waste subcommittee, chaired by Orcas East Council Member Patty Miller. She describes that process currently as “sausage making – there are so many variables to consider as we trying to solidify alternatives to get to a ballot measure.

“There are a lot of moving parts and structure that is not in place, but now there is a solid waste subcommittee to work through those variables and bring them to the council.”

Miller emphasizes that the options currently discussed are starting points, not agreed-upon policy to become county law. The task before the council is to decide on the elements to be included in the ballot measure that will come before county voters in the November election.

Miller says it is clear to the council that county residents want to retain self-hauling and recycling facilities on each of the three major islands; however, it is “not so strong and clear that we should impose a fee for those operations.”

The council could impose a parcel fee in order to continue separate island “dumps” and recycling centers as part of its public health and safety mandate, Miller says, but the council has committed to asking voters if they want the council to move in that direction.

The parcel fee would be assessed on property based on that property’s use, rather than on the property’s value. Undeveloped property would not be subject to the parcel fee. The County Public Works department staff is analyzing classes of property with an eye towards their waste generation: industrial uses are considered to be higher waste generators than residential land use.

There will be an appeals process to allow a lower rate for residential use on industrial-zoned properties.

On June 20, Gaylord told the Council that Friday Harbor residents will be able to vote on the fee assessment; however, they won’t be subject to the parcel fee. (Friday Harbor has residents currently pay the town a base fee for mandatory curbside garbage pickup which is hauled to Skagit County. They also pay a tipping fee when they self-haul to the dump.)

Miller said that Gaylord’s announcement affects the work of the solid waste subcommittee. “We will have to address that in the rate structure, so the tipping fee doesn’t send people off island.” The subcommittee now is considering two tiers of payment:

1. The parcel fee to cover capital costs and debt
2. A tipping/disposal fee to cover operating fees

“If the parcel fee covers everything, then it doesn’t motivate people to reduce garbage,” Miller explained.

In the process of comparing the variables, Miller thanks Jeff Struthers for creating a model laying out how the variables interplay. “It is so valuable to have someone who is not trying to influence policy, but considering how to help the council get to a decision.”

The problems of garbage disposal is not just a local issue, Miller says, but the size, geography and logistics of  San Juan County have brought the county’s waste operations to a critical point. “The costs of garbage disposal are fixed, but the funding structure is 100 percent variable” The county has reduced waste disposal staff and days of operation to bring costs down, but not enough to address the reduction in garbage.

“This is a national trend, it’s not just us; but the difference is in economies of scale. In Skagit County, for example, it may take 10 minutes to an hour to get to disposal facilities. Here it can be a minimum of four hours to go to another island.”

Miller adds that the State Department of Ecology is “anxious” for San Juan County to test the legality of a parcel fee for a utility such as waste disposal, “because other counties are looking at [parcel fees] as a solution.

“It goes to a valid concern, a philosophical issue: should there be a tax paid by people with higher assessed property values with no correlation to its use (for example, property taxes for school and fire districts) when the service is usually a utilization-based structure (historically a utility)?”

The County Council concluded that a parcel fee was the most equitable way of providing services, Miller said. “We could just impose it, but we felt we should leave it to the voters to decide.”

She added that it is the Council’s intent is to make clear what the alternative is if the ballot measure fails: although not fleshed out yet,  it will be predominantly curbside pick-up.  Also, recycling  would be available for home pick up but would likely be significantly higher than what we pay now.”