City officials are working to strike a dialogue with area solid-waste companies after representatives of three local firms voiced opposition to a proposed 8 percent hike in landfill tipping fees at the June 4 Springfield City Council meeting.
Richard Brownsberger, owner of Strafford-based Hometown Disposal Inc., said his trash hauling service did not have time to adjust to the rate increases that, if approved, would take effect Sept. 1. He said Hometown Disposal spends an estimated $25,000 per month on disposal at the landfill, and those tipping fees typically equate to more than 30 percent of revenue for haulers such as Hometown. The company’s business model, which features multimonth and one- to three-year commercial contracts, makes it difficult to absorb such an increase in the middle of the year.
“I want to know what warrants the fee increase,” Brownsberger said. “At the very least, we’d like to wait until the beginning of 2013, so we could be prepared.”
The increase in landfill rates is part of the city’s proposed fee schedule for services in fiscal 2013, a regular exercise in the budget process. Finance Director Mary Mannix Decker said the annual fee adjustments are designed to cover 100 percent of the city’s costs. The city’s $310 million fiscal 2013 budget was passed during the meeting as a separate bill without discussion prior to the vote from council members.
The fee schedule proposes 138 rate increases, 22 declines in service rates and 15 unchanged service fees. Only the landfill tipping fees garnered comments from the public.
James and Vickie Ball of Springfield-based Moore’s Trash Service and Carla Lampe of Fair Grove-based Ozark Mountain Sanitation each expressed concern about the suddenness of the rate increases.
Springfield Environmental Services Director Steve Meyer said the city last adjusted the landfill tipping fee schedule in 2007, increasing rates to $28.65 per ton. Last year, the city also added a 2 percent charge on credit card payments by trash collectors. The proposal would increase the tipping fee to $30.94 per ton, according to documents submitted to council.
Meyer said increases on tipping fees were overdue, and Springfield still compares favorably with other cities across the state.
“Even with this increase, we are going to have the lowest-priced tipping fee in the state,” Meyer told council members.
According to Springfield Business Journal research, landfill tipping fees are $34.55 per ton in St. Louis, $28.17 per ton to $34.78 per ton in Kansas City and $56 per ton in Maryville, for example. A 2008 study by BioCycle magazine determined the average landfill tipping fee in America was $42.08 per ton.
Councilman John Rush spoke out against the city’s process, which meant haulers learned only last week the fees could go up.
“I think these are legitimate complaints,” Rush said.
City Manager Greg Burris said he would arrange for Meyer and representatives from concerned trash companies to discuss at the June 12 council luncheon the need for increases and possibly find ways to make the rate hikes less immediate.
Meyer said the move was made to cover the city’s costs, but he doesn’t want to impose an unnecessary burden on businesses. “None of us like to see costs increase,” Meyer said at the meeting.
Other proposals in the fee schedule:
- increase 26 fees associated with zoning and subdivision case reviews ranging from 2.8 percent to 23.5 percent;
- raise liquor license investigation fees 5.7 percent and fees to investigate applications for permission to operate an after-hours establishment by 12.2 percent; and
- increase building plan review minimum costs 23.5 percent to $163.
The proposed fee changes are scheduled to be voted on at the June 18 council meeting.
Connection exceptionCity Council unanimously granted an exception to the city’s connectivity policy by approving a bill that withdrew the requirement of developers of Westport Woods apartment complex to construct an extension of West College Street between North Golden and North Hilton avenues.
At the bill’s May 21 public hearing, Springfield Planning and Development Director Ralph Rognstad said the city has a longstanding policy of requiring street access in developments where connectivity is a problem.
Council approved plans for Westport Woods in July 2011 and had required a College Street extension when the land was developed.
On May 3, the Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously denied the variance proposal requested by Joe and Marie Carmichael through Affordable Homes Development Inc. The company is developing a 46-unit apartment complex that would provide housing for tenants who earn between 60 percent and 80 percent of the median income in Greene County. The Carmichaels said May 21 they were preparing to bid the construction of the complex.
Council members agreed with nearby neighbors who have complained that Harvard Avenue, which is immediately west of Westport Park, is too narrow to support a new through street.
“Sometimes the general principal needs to yield to the specific need of the area,” Councilwoman Cindy Rushefsky said.
