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Montgomery County solid waste district proposes fee increase; Germantown hears plan to avoid 2026 cash shortfall
Summary
Montgomery County Solid Waste Management District representatives told Germantown council the district recommends raising the generation fee from $3.00 to $3.65 per ton to prevent program funding depletion in 2026 and to meet state recycling and access goals.
Jamie Shepherd and John Woodman of the Montgomery County Solid Waste Management District presented the district’s five-year plan update to Germantown’s City Council at Monday’s meeting.
Shepherd said state law (House Bill 592, 1988) requires each county solid waste district to develop a plan that meets recycling and accessibility goals and demonstrates adequate funding for programs. She told the council the district’s financial advisory committee recommended increasing the per-ton generation fee from $3.00 to $3.65, "which equates approximately a 65¢ cent per household per year increase." She said the fee would rise by 6% annually after 2026 to preserve current programming.
Shepherd described the district’s existing revenue structure: a generation fee (currently $3/ton) and tier fees tied to county landfills ($2/ton for in-district waste, $4/ton for out-of-district waste, and $2/ton for out-of-state waste). She said the district’s cash reserves were projected to be depleted in 2026 absent the recommended fee changes and that the district had not raised generation fees since 2010.
Shepherd answered council questions about funding and said the 2026 plan may examine fee-for-service charges for specific programs. No Germantown-specific vote on the district plan occurred at the meeting; the plan appears on county-level approval tracks and the council had that resolution on the consent agenda later in the meeting.
