Waste district won't raise fees
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By David Delcore TIMES ARGUS STAFF - Published: December 4, 2009
BERLIN – A solid waste management district known mostly for its network of recycling depots will undergo an extreme makeover in coming months as it pivots away from those facilities and launches new programs that are more in tune with its "zero waste" philosophy.
Thanks to a series of split decisions that capped hours of spirited debate, supervisors of the Central Vermont Solid Waste Management District this week agreed it is time to redefine the role of the 22-town cooperative with an eye toward providing new direct services to its members.
It took a financial crisis that hasn't yet come into full focus to force the issue, but a majority of the board agreed that business as usual is not an option – except when it comes to the population-based fee that is paid by member municipalities. That fee, which currently stands at $3.10 per capita, won't change during the coming fiscal year, despite support by some for a $2 increase that would have arguably been needed to maintain anything approaching the status quo.
Although it appeared clear early on that there simply weren't enough votes to pass a fee increase that had been panned by city councils and selectboards in most of the district's larger communities, some members, like Cabot Supervisor R.D. Eno, Roxbury's Gerry D'Amico and Fred White from Northfield, led a vocal minority.
Eno argued that increasing a per capita fee, which hadn't been adjusted in more than four years, was "fair and prudent" given the district's unsure financial footing. He was unapologetic about his desire to retain the ability to tap an important revenue source going forward.
"We are a government, we're not a private operation," he said. "We don't balance our books the way a private corporation does. We provide services … and people need to pay for those services just as they pay for their roads or their schools."
White agreed, describing the financial effect of the proposed rate hike as "insignificant," and pointing to projections that suggest the increase would amount to the cost of "half-a-bag of garbage" for a Northfield resident on an annual basis.
Like Eno, White lives in one of the communities where the district currently operates a recycling depot.
D'Amico doesn't. But, Roxbury's long-time representative on the waste district board worried that passing up the chance to increase the per capita fee would force the board down a budgetary path that would leave the future of those depots in limbo.
D'Amico said that would be a mistake that would hit the district's rural communities hardest and could lead to something of an identity crisis for the district.
"That's the face of the district," he said of the depots. "Like it or not that's the way it is."
Not for much longer.
In addition to freezing the per capita fee for another year, a divided board embraced a budget approach that envisions the district stepping away from direct operation of the depots that have been both its main claim to fame and the biggest drain on its resources.
The district has long-subsidized the trash recycling depots it developed over the last two decades, but that has proved particularly challenging this year due to a significant reduction in the primary source of revenue for its $1.8 million operating budget, a trash tax supervisors increased from $21- to $30-per-ton as an emergency measure earlier this year.
Other mid-year budget adjustments have included scaling back depot hours, cutting office positions, freezing discretionary spending and, most recently, imposing a first-ever charge for recyclables accepted at district depots.
Calais Selectman John Brabant said he was initially concerned about a philosophical approach he worried might spell the end of the district.
"Take the district out of the depots and you have no other role and it starts begging the question, why the district?" he said. "That was a big concern of mine coming here. The district starts losing its reason to exist."
However, after hearing Executive Director Donna Barlow Casey defend a philosophy that envisions turning operation of the depots over to the private sector on a contractual basis and refocusing the district's resources on programs designed to divert additional waste from landfills, Brabant said his questions had been answered.
"We can adjust this along the way … but we're saying the district still has a role in setting good public policy in terms of waster reduction (and) organics out of the waste stream and I think that's important," he said.
Although some members suggested postponing action on choosing a budget philosophy, Casey said that would be counterproductive.
"I'm just trying to get some direction from the board so we can begin to stop responding to crises and so that we can begin to plan," she said, explaining it will take some time to develop a detailed budget outlining the programs the district hopes to offer in the coming fiscal year.
"If I don't get an answer tonight you're tying my hands (and) you're beginning to create a new crisis," she said. "The delays in decision-making we've had over the last five years, over the last six months … are resulting in your feeling as if you don't have enough time or information to make decisions."
Casey's plea for decisive action, coupled with the bleak financial picture she painted, paid off as the board ultimately voted to endorse a strategy that contemplates the district turning over operations of its depots to a private hauler.
According to Casey, the district is using cash to offset losses caused by the depots and is currently delaying paying its bills – with the exception of payroll – due to a cash crunch that is tied to a still-slumping economy.
Given concern that the district may not make it to the end of the current fiscal year without altering its operations, supervisors authorized Casey to negotiate with Earth Waste Systems of Rutland to take over operation of the district's depot network early next year. The company has offered to provide the same service that the district has provided at the same cost. However, the details of a potential transition – including the duration of contracts that may vary from depot to depot – have not yet been worked out.
david.delcore@timesargus.com
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