Charlestown council amends CRCC fee schedule; construction, bulky and brush waste set at 15¢ per pound

On April 14, 2025, the Charlestown Town Council approved a resolution amending the fee schedule for the Charlestown Residential Collection Center (CRCC), setting construction material and bulky-waste disposal at 15 cents per pound with $15 minimum charges and adopting several other updated rates for fiscal year 2025–26.

The council’s action followed a discussion prompted by Councilor Sloane, who said a previously approved 5¢ per‑pound increase would raise the minimum charge for small users and could disproportionately affect average residents and small contractors. Town Treasurer Gormley told the council the resolution as originally drafted — including the 5¢ per‑pound increase — would produce additional revenue that could reduce the general fund subsidy to the CRCC, but that rolling back the per‑pound increase could still leave the program near breakeven because of recent changes to annual passes and bag tags.

Councilor Stokes moved to set the construction- and bulky-waste rates to 15¢ per pound (a reduction from what had been proposed in the resolution). That motion passed on a 3–2 roll call. Councilor Marr then offered an amendment to strike the CRCC solid‑waste per‑pound rate from the body of the resolution (reflecting that not all councilors had voted for the higher per‑pound rate previously); that amendment passed unanimously. After additional wording changes to align brush/yard waste with the newly set construction/bulky rate, the council voted 4–1 to adopt the resolution as amended.

The rates as adopted read (fiscal year 2025–26): residential identification sticker $30; solid‑waste bag tags $18.50 per sheet of five; recyclables no charge; construction material 15¢ per pound ($15 minimum); bulky waste 15¢ per pound ($15 minimum); white goods $25 per unit; tires $5 per tire; brush/yard waste 15¢ per pound ($15 minimum). The resolution directs the town administrator, treasurer and director of public works to implement the changes. The resolution takes effect upon passage.

Councilors raised how small, incremental rate changes compound over time and discussed alternatives such as smaller incremental increases (1–2¢) and revisiting the schedule next year if revenues from passes and bag tags produce the anticipated gains. Treasurer Gormley said the half‑year timing of new pass sales meant revenue effects would grow next fiscal year.

The council’s vote summary: a motion to set the per‑pound construction/bulky/buffer rate to 15¢ carried 3–2; an amendment to remove the originally proposed solid‑waste per‑pound language was approved 5–0; the final resolution as amended passed 4–1.

The council included the amended CRCC schedule in the adopted fiscal documents and directed staff to distribute the resolution to the town administrator, treasurer, director of public works and town clerk.

The council handled related budget clean‑up items later in the meeting that remove an anticipated transfer into the CRCC enterprise fund because the revised rates and pass/tag changes increased expected CRCC revenue, but account reallocation steps were described by the treasurer as separate budget adjustments.