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Board Adopts Solid‑Waste Ordinance Update and Authorizes 3% Annual Fee Increase
Summary
Suwannee County commissioners adopted an ordinance updating solid‑waste fees and authorized an automatic 3% annual increase beginning Oct. 1, 2026; the change aligns ordinance text with current practices and indexes tipping fees to inflation unless the board suspends the increase by resolution.
The Suwannee County Board of County Commissioners on July 15 adopted an ordinance updating county solid‑waste fees and authorizing an automatic 3% annual increase in tipping fees beginning Oct. 1, 2026. The board voted 4‑0 to enact the update.
Why it matters: County staff said solid‑waste tipping fees had not been updated in roughly 25 years and that some fees in the current ordinance do not reflect present practice (for example, the ordinance still lists acceptance of construction debris and commercial oil, which staff say the county no longer accepts). The ordinance aligns code language with current operations and establishes a 3% automatic annual adjustment to reduce the need for frequent ordinance amendments.
County Attorney Morrison and county staff reviewed the proposed ordinance with commissioners and said the annual increases can be stopped or modified by a future board via resolution. As Mr. Morrison explained, indexing inside the ordinance is intended to reduce recurring gaps between fees and actual disposal costs that had emerged because fees had not been updated for decades.
Morrison and other staff emphasized the change applies to tipping and disposal fees charged at county facilities and does not affect the separate solid‑waste assessment levied on property tax bills. The ordinance text read into the record states: “Beginning 10/01/2026, and each October 1 thereafter, all tipping fees shall automatically increase by 3%, unless otherwise directed by the board by resolution.”
During public comment a resident asked whether the 3% increase compounds year to year; staff confirmed the increase would compound annually but reiterated the board retains authority to lower or suspend the increase by resolution later. The board approved the ordinance (motion by Commissioner White; second by Commissioner Mobley) on a 4‑0 vote.
Ending: The ordinance updates fee language to match current solid‑waste operations and creates a mechanism for an automatic indexed increase that the board can reverse or change by resolution.
