County weighs return of windshield decal, C&D controls and more gate attendants to close a $750,000 budget gap

County solid waste staff presented several budget-related policy options on Monday including reissuing a long-standing $25 personal-property decal, tightening controls on construction-and-demolition (C&D) debris, limited reopening of restricted brush acceptance at Chancellor, and adding staff at convenience centers.

Ben, the county solid waste lead, said the FY26 base budget included $750,000 in anticipated decal revenue. He proposed exploring reissuing the old windshield decal that residents historically paid $25 for; if the county simply reissues that decal there would be no net new revenue because residents already pay the fee, but doing so would change how the program is administered. Ben said that reissuing the decal without changing the fee would create a budget gap relative to the current base budget assumption.

To make up the projected shortfall, staff recommended controlling C&D debris entering county facilities. Ben said tightening C&D rules and enforcement at the landfill and convenience centers could generate an additional $750,000 to $1,000,000 in revenue above existing projections because the county is seeing higher C&D volumes under current policies. He clarified that the policy work would focus on true construction and demolition debris (for example drywall, tile, lumber from building projects) and would aim to avoid impacting typical bulky-item drop-offs by homeowners.

Staff also described the safety and capacity limits at the Chancellor site and said restricted brush could be reintroduced on a limited basis with hours limits and extra staffing. To support the policy changes and consistent customer service, staff recommended reinstating five full-time gate attendants (deleting 2.5 part-time positions) at an estimated cost of $113,379; staff argued full-time attendants reduce turnover and provide consistent policy enforcement and customer guidance.

Supervisors asked whether gate attendants would make judgment calls on whether a load constituted C&D; Ben said attendants would receive training and written guidelines but acknowledged turnover and consistent interpretation are challenges.

No formal policy changes were approved at the work session; staff said they will return with proposed policy language and implementation details for board review and public input.