During their work session Tuesday evening, two Wake Forest commissioners, Bridget Wall-Lennon and Adam Wright, had questions about the proposed monthly solid waste and recycling fee of $21.
Wall-Lennon said elderly people or those on a limited income may have a hard time paying this additional amount that the 2020-2021 budget plans will be on the Raleigh water and sewer bills starting in January. Currently the fees for that service were paid through the town’s property tax.
She and Wright wanted to know what the fee includes. He also asked if the town can drop recycling and was told, no, the state requires towns collect recycling. Wright said the proposed new fee would total $252 a year in addition to the increase in property tax most home owners will see because of county-wide property revaluation and because Town Manager Kip Padgett proposes a tax rate of $0.495 per $100 valuation, an increase of $0.0337 over the revenue-neutral tax rate of $0.4613. (The current tax rate is $0.52.)
Chief Finance Officer Aileen Staples, who had been going through a PowerPoint presentation about the proposed budget, said the $21 includes $11 for trash/solid waste collection, $5 for recycling collection and $5 for yard waste collection. She also said most Wake County towns have a separate solid waste and recycling fee that averages $22 per month. She also said Morrisville will be switching to a fee while Garner still has it in its tax base.
Mayor Vivian Jones said the fee will have “a disproportionate impact on the elderly, the disabled and those on limited incomes.
Staples gave an example of the impact of the revaluation, new property tax rate and solid waste fee by using the house on South Main Street that she just sold. Last year the property was valued at $214,460; this year at $257,894. Her property tax bill for last year was $1,115.19, and this year it will be $1,276.58. The solid waste fee will only be in effect for half the year or $126. The total impact for that property will be $287.39.
“I don’t want people to see their water cut off because they can’t pay their water bill,” Wall-Lennon said. She also asked if Raleigh could have a round-up program by which customers who can “round up” their payment to the nearest dollar, an amount which then goes into a fund which gives less fortunate customers help with their bills.
Commissioner Jim Dyer said Koinonia will assist those people with their bills as will other church groups. “I’m hoping we don’t have that many.”
Jones said ChurchNet will also help, and Dyer said the town could ask what other communities will do.
There was reference to a program which could help people 65 or older who make less than $39,000 but it was not clear whether this could help with the new fee.
Staples’ presentation included the sharp decrease in the state and local sales tax, down 7 percent in April, the addition of the fire department to town government and the decrease in revenue for the town overall. “We are prepared to cope with the sales tax decrease,” she said.
For one, the town cut out out-of-state travel – Padgett stopped traveling and that saved $109,000 – and the town will carefully program the start dates for new hires and capital outlay purchases to assure the money is assured for each. Staples said the town took $812,400 out of the appropriated fund balance (a savings account) to balance the next fiscal year budget. “That was the lowest amount in several years.”
The commissioners went through the proposed budget department by department and had several questions. Wall-Lennon asked Police Chief Jeff Leonard about eight body cams, and he said the eight are to have extras. Every uniformed officer who is on the street has a body cam and all patrol cars have cameras. The eight are to make sure that when a current body cam needs repair there is a replacement.
Wall-Lennon wanted to make sure outside agencies that are not currently given funds have an opportunity in the future to speak to the commissioners and make their pitch for town money. The current list of outside agencies includes Resources for Seniors, $5,000 (the group provides programs and staff at Northern Wake Senior Center and is now providing online services); Wake Forest College Birthplace, $4,000 (the Wake Forest Historical Museum hosts several groups on a regular basis and provides programs and displays about town history); Wake Forest Boys & Girls Club, $7,500 (provides after-school care and programs for area students); Wake Forest Area Chamber of Commerce, $12,500 (the town is a Community Investor level supporter of the chamber); Launch Wake Forest, $1,000 (a program of the economic department).
The estimated tax base is $6,776,440,610, and one cent of the proposed tax rate is $664,090 at a 98 percent collection rate.
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4 Responses
Maybe I don’t understand but our taxes currently include the recycle $21 . Now taxes are going up AND the $21 is being charged. Double dipping on recycling?????
I believe more transparency and a better explanation is needed with regard to the proposed new fee for recycling.
A quick look at blog information on the UNC School of Government web site under environmental law appears to say local government can require separation of recycle materials from solid waste. That keeps the recycle materials out of the landfill. It goes on to say the recycle materials are not required to be passed along to the local government. Maybe one keeps the aluminum cans for themselves and sells for scrap.
In addition, there are numerous things that are banned from landfills such as automotive batteries, paints, used motor oil, electronics like computers and TVs, even oyster shells, etc. Most of items go to the Wake County recycle center off Durant Road.
For most residential applications the day to day trash items that cannot go to the landfill are aluminum cans and plastic bottles with a neck small than the container and having a cap or top.
Maybe we consider recycle pickup every other week like Raleigh and cut the recycling portion cost by 50%.
As noted by others a new fee is essentially a new tax. Efforts should be made to minimize the impact on taxpayers.
I am grateful to Ms.Wall-Lennon and Mr.Wright for seeking more explanation of the new $21 fee. Homeowners in communities where an HOA contracts with a private company to mow the grass and prune the bushes must pay hefty monthly fees to cover such costs and are not permitted to make use of the town’s yard waste collection services. I live in such a community (Heritage View Townes in Heritage South). I am puzzled as to why my neighbors and I must pay $5 monthly toward yard waste collection when the town does not offer us such services. I understand the regular trash and recycling fees, as I believe that every community receives trash pickup. But, yard waste is another matter and it seems that homeowners not permitted to use this service should not be required to pay for it.
Increased tax valuations with resulting tax increase along with continued increases in fees will force the fixed income demographic to sell out & move. It is unfair for those whose income does not increase to be burdened with ever increasing cost of government. We work a lifetime paying taxes along the way to be told, when we no longer have income that tracks real cost of living, that we have to pay more. This is the same demographic that has increased medical costs. The fees are anti-retiree.