Valley trash rates on rise

August 21, 2005

DARRELL L. BREESE/Frontiersman reporter

PALMER - The cost of taking out the trash in the Valley is going up.

Mat-Su Borough Assembly members on Tuesday approved an increase in the fees charged for disposal of solid waste at the central landfill and transfer sites. But the changes did not come without some tense moments during assembly debate.

Mayor Tim Anderson was forced to break a tie when assembly member Jim Colver moved to postpone the resolution implementing the change.

Colver raised his objection because the increased fees were necessary to meet changes implemented by the approval of the 2006 operating budget. He went on to call Borough Manager John Duffy a liar, based on testimony he gave during the budget debate.

"Before we passed the budget I asked if we would need to pass any fees later to make this budget and he said no." Colver said. "We can look back in the record and see his response.

"I asked then in order to avoid having to do this today," Colver concluded.

Duffy did not respond to the accusation from Colver. Instead he called on Mat-Su Finance Director Tammy Clayton to respond.

"We did include the new fees in calculating the budget," Clayton said. "We didn't know when they would go into effect, but the revenue from the fees was estimated into the current budget."

That's when Colver called for postponing the resolution and fellow assembly members Betty Vehrs and Talis Colberg agreed, resulting in a 3-3 tie. After Anderson broke the tie, the resolution passed, with Vehrs and Colver opposing.

The major changes to the fees include an increase in the charge for unsecured/uncovered loads and a new set of fees for construction/demolition debris from outside the borough. There is also a more comprehensive rate schedule for household hazardous waste. The new fees will go into effect Sept. 1.

Fees will double for unsecured/uncovered passenger vehicles, rising from $5

to $10.

Disposal of construc-tion/demolition debris from within the borough will continue to cost $45 per ton, while a separate charge, $90 per ton, was created for similar loads originating from outside the borough.

The new fee structure also changed the transfer site single-bag rate to include up to four 33-gallon bags at $1 each.

Household hazardous material will no longer be lumped together in one category, but has been divided according to common items. General hazardous waste will cost $1 per pound, antifreeze disposal will cost $4 per gallon and propane bottles cost $5 each beyond the first one, which is free.

The increased fees were necessary to offset the rise in operating costs and make up differences in amounts charged by contractors for the disposal of some materials.

Contact Darrell L. Breese at 352-2267 or darrell.breese@ frontiersman.com.