Select Board votes to roll solid-waste fee into $2.8 million override, eliminating quarterly fee

On March 5 the Mansfield Select Board voted unanimously to include the town's solid-waste charge in the proposed FY2026 override and eliminate the separate quarterly solid-waste fee.

Town staff presented a spreadsheet comparing two options: a $2,000,000 override with the quarterly solid-waste fee retained, and a $2,800,000 override that folds the solid-waste revenue into the override and removes the separate fee. Staff said roughly $800,000 is presently generated by the solid-waste fee and that moving that revenue into the override spreads the cost across all town properties rather than only the roughly 6,700 properties currently paying the quarterly fee.

Using a sample assessed value of $650,000, staff walked the board through the arithmetic: on a $2,000,000 override the estimated property impact would be about $214.50 plus the quarterly solid-waste charge (noted in the presentation as $121.47 per year), for a combined effect of about $335. Under the $2,800,000 override that folds in the solid-waste revenue, the override impact for the same $650,000 property would be about $299, but without the separate $121.47 fee the total impact would be roughly $177'$178, resulting in a lower total cost for that typical property.

Select Board members said the spreadsheet made the trade-offs clear; the motion to include the solid-waste fee in the override and eliminate the individual fee passed unanimously. Town staff said the change was suggested at a prior Tri-Board meeting and would be reflected in the town's override wording going to voters.

The board's motion was: "Motion to include the solid waste fee in the override budget and eliminate the individual fee."