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10/27/2006
Taxpayers - always pick apart the numbers
Municipalities throughout Outagamie County are struggling through budgets this time of year.
FoxPolitics talked several weeks ago about just one more thorn in everybody’s side - the county’s decision to up the landfill tipping fee from $21 per ton to $23 per ton in 2007. That’s resulting in increased costs of about $85,000 to the City of Appleton alone.
So far, Appleton has decided to pass on the increase to taxpayers via the 2007 budget.
Our landfill is a precious commodity – it does what it does well, provides an essential service to the community and seems to be managed capably.
In their zeal to do things right, the landfill folks are even now selling the methane gas produced in the depths of them ther’ hills. Yup, that’s right. Beginning January 1, the landfill has contracted with Bio-Gas Technologies, Ltd. to sell their methane for quite a tidy profit. Good work!
It's a bunch of numbers, but consider the following:
- The increase in the tipping fee will impact all customers who aren’t on special contract pricing. (That’s all of us little guys.) Increased revenue is projected to be $220,000, spread over 160,000 tons.
- County officials have been conservative in their estimate of methane revenues – conservative - the possibility exists to bring in almost all of that $220,000 increase in incremental methane revenue alone.
- County officials must, per good business practices and state statutes, maintain a special fund to be able to close the landfill and fund its maintenance after closure. Again, the county is conservative here. The DNR, using their own assumptions of future inflation rates, requires a reserve of about $9.5M. Outagamie County, using different assumptions for their calculations, is increasing tipping fees so their fund can be sustained at a level of about $11.1M.
- One reason for the landfill’s claimed dire fiscal predicament is that they’ve lost business to competing landfills. If the goal is to increase business – as well as revenues – increased prices usually don’t stimulate a flock of returning customers.
- $3 of every $21 goes right straight to the state to fund its Recycling Fund. And that fund sends grants back to the counties for their recycling programs (does that make sense?) The problem is the coffers of the Recycling Fund are overflowing – so much so that both the legislature and governor raided that fund to the tune of $30M for completely unrelated state programs. The point is, why are we still paying the $3 if the Fund is so flush it can be used to balance the state’s budget?
Ok, the landfill is trying to be responsible, trying to be conservative. But the main explanation for an increase is that prices haven’t gone up in 17 years. And that “typical market pricing is 50 – 100% higher.”
Yes – in the scheme of things, it’s small potatoes. But $220K is real money to county customers/taxpayers paying the bill and the County Board needs to look closely at the financials. Grand Chute has chosen to fight the increase. Appleton should join them. Ditto Kimberly and Kauakauna and Combined Locks and every other trash-generating entity in Outagamie County.
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