Rural Orange impacted by Alamance landfill moves: Two irons in other fires... 1 is our ongoing discussion over partnering with the Haystacks group fighting prison farm expansion onto farmland in North Alamance and the other is Orange county waste system which is hailing all its trash out of their county since their landfill closed, last year... Here is a note one their leaders sent me to share with those of you in rural Orange. ------------ This year the Board of Orange County Commissioners has begun to take up the concept of how to pay for our unincorporated areas curbside recycling program. We are currently funding the curbside programs (urban and unincorporated area and apartment collections) from Solid Waste Fund Reserves. The other programs like dropoff, hazaardous wastes, electronics, are funded from the basic fee which continues to be a line item flat fee of $47/year on everyones tax bill. After July 1 2014 the curbside program we use can go one of two ways: 1. The Board can create a special taxing district that encompasses all of us outsideTown limits who have access to curbside recycling -- that is about 2/3 of all households outside town or 13,700 now. It is like a fire district and paid as a property tax, so would vary w/ your homes value. The estimated rate to totally fund the program is somewhere around $0.015/$100 of value, thus the $300,000 house would pay $45/year. The old flat fee was $38/year regardless of home value. The fee is not allowed by NC statute any longer. ( In town they will pay a fee again because Towns can charge it, not counties) If you own your home you will have received a formal letter from the County soon describing this tax and notifying you of the upcoming public hearings. The new program will include a roll cart instead of bins. Thus a bit easier for most of us. Under this scenario, all in the district (that will be a bit bigger than the current 13,700 homes, more like 15,500 or so) but it also taxes other real property like farmland. A flaw in that approach, but isnt everything flawed?. 2. The alternative is a voluntary program operated by Orange County (as we operate it now) but it would be by subscription. Assuming that only a certain percentage of those now eligible for service actually sign up, the annual cost per household would likely be around $75 to $80 per year. The concern is that with a voluntary program fewer would pay due to the higher fee, then cost per unit would rise and then more would opt out, ad nauseum, thus causing a possible program failure. The Board will hold two public hearings on the tax district March 18 and April 1, both at 6pm. March 18 at Southern Human Services Center on Homestead Road in CH, off MLK and April 1 at the old Walmart Dept of Social Services in Hillsborough off Mayo St. behind Ford Dealer on S. Churton. in Hboro. You can learn more at the Friends of Orange County Recycling FaceBook Page that has been recently set up by a group of citizens or from looking at the relevant County Board agenda item from February 4 2014 that discusses some of the pros and cons of each approach. the Board will hear a lot from those who oppose said tax, though they were paying the $38 fee for years (since 04) without objection. Further many who have shown up a;ready to oppose the tax have been demonstrated to live outside the district, so would not be affected. For those who value the curbside program and are not always willing or able to take their recycling to convenience centers (the prescription from the opposition of why they dont need it) it is a good time to voice your sentiments to the Board. So you know, Orange County collects about 1800 tons a year from the orange bin program and another 2,500 tons at the convenience centers.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Mar 2014 18:27:44 +0000
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