08/22/94 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

ESTABLISH CURBSIDE RECYCLING RATE By: Jessie L. Hart, Finance Officer CASE Background: The City of Rarr~.ey has been providing mandatory curbside recycling to residential properties, at no cost to them, ~for the past several years. The cost of operating the curbside program has been funded through ~pping fees and Anoka County grants. With the closure of the landfill, there is the need for a new ft~nding source. The monies from which the abatement activities are currently funded, such as the curbside recycling prograr~, environmental specialist, and clean-up day, will be completely depleted by mid- 1995 ff the City is to continue funding the programs 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 means, such as directly billing residential properties for the services. With the implementation of billing services through Anoka Electric Cooperative (AEC), we now have the ability tO accomplish a direct billing to even those residents who do not currently reside in the urban service;area. The City currently incurs a total of approximately $85,000 to provide the curbside recycling program and cle~n-up day(s). This number includes the charges by the hauler for pick-ups and staff time for a~istration and coordination of the programs and will be offset by approximately $35,000 in cour/t3, grants (anticipated for 1995). This number does not include the cost of recycling bins, which at this point in time are approximately $8.00 per bin, and it is not anticipated that there will be ~t need to purchase additional bins until late 1995 or early 1996. Utilizing staff's e~stimate of households for 1995 at 4,547, there would be an additional charge of $5,456 in annual billing charges if direct billing is considered acceptable. This would equate to an annual cost per household of $12.20, which when billed quarterly would be $3.05 per quarter. For comparison yrposes, the following is list of cities that currently provide curbside recycling and the charge, il' any, that is passed onto the residents on a quarterly basis. (List obtained from 1994 Utility Rate!Survey performed by the City of Luverne for Communities in Minnesota with a population over 2,500.) Elk R_/ver Anoka Champlin Blaine Andover Ham Lake $3.44/quarter $6.00/quarter Built into organized collection rate Built into organized collection rate No separate charge identified No separate charge identified It is apparent, when compared with our neighboring communities, a quarterly rate of $3.05 is a fair and reasonable rate, based on actual costs to be incurred. The rate at $3.05iperquarter would be a fiat rate billed to all' residential properties in the City. There would bel no exemptions from the program; participation is voluntary but highly recommended. The. grants received from Anoka County are based on recycling goals; if these goals are not met,!there is a potential for funding cuts.