Public Services Director Kim Clymire and Deputy Director Caroline Chavez went to the board Tuesday for what would be a more than two-and-a-half-hour-long discussion on the possible benefits of importing the garbage from Mendocino County, along with raising gate fees at the Eastlake Landfill in Clearlake and increasing garbage rates.
It was a proposal that Clymire said he took to the board with a “heavy heart.”
However, landfill tonnage has dropped 25 percent each year for the last three years, translating into a $1.5 million deficit during that time, which has put Public Services in a position where its reserves are depleted.
Clymire, who noted that he's discussed the matter with the board during budget hearings over the last few years, said the revenue shortfalls – along with unfunded state mandates relating to air and water protections – was a motivation for pursuing the plan, estimated to bring in about $850,000 annually.
An additional option was raising garbage fees by between $1.05 and $1.63 per month per residence. Chavez said rates haven't been raised since 1995.
“This is a big dilemma. We knew it was coming sooner or later,” said Supervisor Rob Brown.
Chavez said Public Services was proposing a five-year agreement to take the waste from the Ukiah transfer station. The agreement would allow them to stop taking the trash once revenues improved.
One of the challenges facing Public Services is the state's goal of “zero waste” – with no garbage going into landfills.
Brown said while he appreciated that was a goal, “World peace is a goal too and it's probably not going to be accomplished either.”
Brown said state water resources and air resources boards were levying costs on operations like the landfill, pointing out that the county recently had to replace a lot of expensive equipment because of emission standards.
“They're too excessive, they're not reasonable, and that's where the cost is,” he said.
Clymire said the state has been hiking fees on landfills with no warning. A state bill that previously was $2,000 jumped to $12,000, and the county was given two weeks to pay it or face a notice of violation.
Supervisor Jeff Smith noted that Lake County's waste operation has been the envy of other local governments. Now, due to the financial climate. “We're looking at something we never thought we'd look at before.”
During public comment, the board heard from A&B Collision owner Bill Stone of Clearlake Oaks who asked them not to raise rates due to concerns about illegal dumping and the difficult business climate.
Donna Christopher of Lucerne, a Solid Waste Task Force member, said she's spoken to many county residents – including seniors on fixed incomes – who favored increased garbage rates over importing garbage from out of county.
David Tam, a recycling advocate who traveled from Berkeley for the meeting, encouraged the board to follow staff's recommendation on importing the Ukiah waste stream. “You are sitting very pretty” on the landfill and recycling program, he said.
However, he warned them about the potential consequences if AB 1178 by Assembly member Fiona Ma (D-San Francisco/Daly City) were to become law.
A legislative summary of the bill said it would prohibit a local government from restricting or limiting in any way the importation of solid waste based on the place of origin.
Tam said that would mean that the county might not be able to stop the waste importation from Ukiah after five years.
Arthur Boone, who traveled with Tam from Berkeley to address the board, suggested the county form a reciprocal waste stream agreement with Ukiah, urging the board not to be too cheap with its landfill rates. He said garbage streams follow the least expensive options.
The board ultimately didn't embrace the importation plan and directed Public Services to bring the matter back for further discussion on May 24, asking them to look at other alternatives.
Following a break, Supervisor Anthony Farrington reported back to the board that he discussed the concerns about AB 1178 with Ma, with whom he has become acquainted, and she and her staff indicated they would be pulling a portion of the bill that relates to public entities not being able to turn away trash.
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