Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Solid Waste Fees topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Broadwater County reviews proposed solid-waste business assessment schedule; public feedback and clarifications requested
Summary
Public Works Director TJ Gravely presented a revised solid-waste business assessment fee schedule May 14 that assigns assessment units by business type, clarifies protest procedures and proposes modest reclassifications. Commissioners and the solid-waste board will finalize the resolution at a subsequent meeting after public feedback.
Public Works Director TJ Gravely presented an updated business-assessment fee schedule for Broadwater County solid-waste services on May 14 and asked the commission to review clarifications developed over an eight-month process with the solid-waste board.
Gravely said the draft schedule does not anticipate raising assessment rates immediately but is meant to clarify which properties and businesses receive which number of assessments. The proposal defines a dwelling unit broadly, sets a minimum of two assessments for most businesses, and creates specific tiers for uses such as bars with restaurants (minimum of eight assessments), hotels and nightly lodging (one assessment per five rooms), schools (one assessment per 35 students) and mini-storage units (a sliding scale from 1 assessment for up to 100 units to 6 assessments for 501+ units). He said veterans who are 100% disabled would receive a solid-waste decal free of charge upon verification.
Gravely said new construction wishing to use county facilities would pay a full fee in the year of construction (prorated to a half fee if within six months of the next assessment cycle) and that a protest window exists under Montana law (he referenced MCA 02/2007) and must be filed in writing with the Public Works office prior to the final decision.
Commissioners asked about specific classifications and edge cases: whether home-based businesses could be assessed (Gravely said state code under MCA 2007 prevents assessing a home-based business unless it generates at least 20% more waste than the average family residential unit), how short-term rentals (VRBO/Airbnb) should be handled (classification is still pending Department of Revenue rules), and whether the schedule will be easy for the public to find online (county staff described the county’s MyGov text-notification option and other outreach plans). Gravely corrected a drafting error in the published packet that named the wrong county office for a contact and confirmed it should read “Broadwater County Public Works.”
The solid-waste board plans to present a final resolution at a future meeting and to solicit public feedback before adopting the schedule. Gravely and commissioners noted the county will need to make administrative clarifications and accept that some appeals or amendments will arise when property owners request reassessment.
No final vote was taken on May 14; commissioners scheduled further discussion and a public comment opportunity at the next meeting cycle.
