Commissioners clarify construction and demolition fee approach; residential/commercial parity recommended

Commissioners reviewed how construction and demolition (C&D) loads should be classified and charged. A staff member pointed out the fee schedule currently lists residential and commercial lines for C&D but uses the same per‑yard price for both; commissioners questioned whether commercial loads should be charged more. Commissioners generally expressed a preference for aligning fees with actual costs rather than retaining separate residential and commercial lines without cost justification. Several commissioners said the residential sticker should not apply to construction/demolition waste: if a household is remodeling their own home and brings C&D material, they should pay the C&D rate rather than use the residential sticker. Conversely, commercial contractors should be charged the same C&D per‑yard rate unless evidence shows a different cost basis. Staff was directed to simplify the C&D fee presentation so that C&D is a specialty fee category with consistent per‑yard pricing for all customers, and to provide cost data showing whether commercial‑scale loads require a different rate. Commissioners also discussed requiring contractors to use the appropriate C&D service and not the household sticker option. No formal vote was taken; the consensus direction was that C&D should be priced according to actual costs, posted as a specialty waste fee, and that the residential sticker not be used to circumvent C&D charges.