Agenda - Council - 08/09/1994 - Laserfiche WebLink

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CASE INTRODUCTION AND FIRST READING OF ORDINANCE AMENDMENT TO CHAPTER 5 OF THE CITY CODE, ADDING SECTION 5.13.07 TO BE KNOWN AS THE RECYCLING RATES AND CHARGES SECTION OF THE CITY CODE By: Jessie L. Hart, Finance Officer Background: The City of RamSey has been providing curbside recycling to residential properties, at no cost to them, for the pa~t several years. The cost of operating the curbside program has been funded through tipping fees and Count>, grants. With the closure of the landfill, there is a pending need for a new funding source. The monies, from which the abatement activities are currently funded, such as the curbside recycling program, environmental specialist, and clean-up da>,, would be completely depleted by mid-1995 if the City is to continue funding the curbside recycling program as it has in the past. In order to allow for the continued funding of at least a portion of the environmental specialist position, it is necessary to fund the other programs through another mean, such as directly billing residential properties for the services. Past discussions had centered around the imposition of a franchise fee, but proved futile. Another · ,alternative is to directly bill the residential properties for the costs of operations, over and above the County grants that are received annually. The implementation of the billing services with Anoka Electric Cooperative now gives the flexibility to do just this. In order to begin: any type of billing process, it is necessary to amend the Ramsey City Code to allow for the establishment of rates and charges in conjunction with the curbside recycling program. The attached ordinance gives the City the ability.to establish rates and charges for the curbside recycling pro,am by Council resolut/on. The issue of how much this billing might be wilt be discussed at the Finance Committee meeting on Monday, August 22, 1994. At that time, an analysis will be presented which indicates the amount to be fun~ed from residential billings. This will be only the amount necessary to cover any of the costs assoc~iated with the curbside recycling program and clean-up day that are not covered by the County grants. A cop3' of the ordinance amendment has been forwarded to City Attorney Bill Goodrich for his review and comments. He is cun'ently researching the legality of certifying unpaid recycling collection charges to a property owners taxes. Staff Recommendation: Staff recommends approval of the attached Ordinance Amendment to Chapter 5 of the City Code, Adding Section 5.13.07 to be Known as the Recycling Rates and Charges Section of the City Code and placement of such on the Council Agenda for August 22, 1994 for second reading and adoption pending review by the City Attorney.