Weber County to lower transfer-station tonnage fee; commissioners eye contracts and longer-term options
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Summary
After county staff reported a sharp drop in commercial deliveries to the Weber County transfer station since the new Ogden facility opened, commissioners signaled support to lower the county's tonnage fee from $52.24 back to $50, and asked staff to negotiate contracts and explore longer-term options including a county landfill or contracting out.
Weber County commissioners signaled support on Thursday for lowering the county transfer-station fee from $52.24 back to $50 per ton after staff reported a sharp drop in commercial traffic tied to a new Ogden transfer station.
Sean Wilkinson briefed the commission that county staff have seen commercial deliveries fall substantially since the Ogden station opened and that private haulers are paying between $47 and $50 a ton at the Ogden facility. “We wanted to come talk to you today about the transfer station,” Wilkinson said. “We have seen a decrease in our commercial traffic.” County staff reported that commercial vehicle counts that had been roughly 120–130 per day are down; trucks the county used to send to landfill have decreased from about 22–24 per day to roughly 13 per day in recent weeks.
County financial staff told commissioners the county raised its rate to $52.24 on July 1 to cover inflation and disposal increases but that holding the fee at $50 per ton for the short term is feasible given current fund balances. Scott Park said the county can temporarily absorb a modest revenue reduction and monitor volumes for about six months while staff negotiates contracts and studies longer-term options. Park described the fund as healthy enough to allow a short-term hold: “We have enough money in our fund balance to do that. We have time. We're not broke.”
Why this matters: commercial deliveries are the transfer station’s major revenue driver, and the county faces near-term contract decisions. Republic Services currently hauls county loads to landfill under contract; staff said some private haulers have shifted most loads to the Ogden transfer station because of lower private rates there. County staff also said residential-haul contracts (Republic for residential pickup in parts of the county) and the transfer-station hauling contract are both coming up and will be part of negotiations: the county’s hauling contract renewal choice deadline is effectively late this year (noting a July 1 renewal next year and a conservative call date of Dec. 1), and a residential pickup contract expires in 2026.
Commissioners discussed options: reduce or hold fees and renegotiate with haulers; cut services and downsize transfer-station operations; contract operations to a private operator; pursue a county-owned landfill with regional partners; or form a special-service district shared with cities. On the immediate question, commissioners expressed consensus to revert to $50 per ton and watch volumes and revenues for about six months while staff pursues contract negotiations and options.
Ending: staff will meet with public-works and Republic representatives, explore trucking and landfill options, and return with financial updates and recommendations; commissioners asked staff to notify contract partners of the county’s intent to review options as negotiations proceed.
