Chittenden Solid Waste District approves ordinance change to raise solid waste management fee to $40 per ton

At its April 16 meeting, the Chittenden Solid Waste District board of commissioners approved changes to the district’s solid waste management ordinance that would allow the solid waste management fee to be set at $40 per ton. Staff said the increase is intended to help close a $3 million-plus shortfall on the district’s new materials recycling facility project.

Executive Director Sarah (last name not specified in transcript) told the board the proposed $40 figure is derived from tracking the fee against two consumer price indexes over 22 years and would align the district’s fee with the garbage and trash industry index. “Had we been utilizing the garbage and trash index CPI for the past 22 years, that number would be at about $39.21…so we would land at an even 40,” she said, adding that the district faces a remaining funding gap of roughly $3 to $3.5 million on the MRF project.

Sarah said staff considered other options — raising tip fees at the MRF, charging higher drop‑off fees, or a per‑capita assessment — and rejected them as either market‑disruptive or inequitable. “We would have to increase the Murphy tip fee by 25 to $30 a ton…that would put us wildly out of market range,” she said. Staff also recommended against sudden mid‑year fee changes and proposed tying annual adjustments to the budget process and to CPI measures produced by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Haulers and municipal representatives at the meeting cautioned the board about immediate rate impacts. Joe (Myers Container) told commissioners his company collects about 70 tons for Westford and estimated the change would add about $7,274 to the town’s bill; he said haulers would likely show the fee as a separate line item to customers. “We take price increases seriously…If this passes, we’re going to be forced to pass along this increase to our customers,” Joe said.

Board members also asked about mitigation steps. Sarah said staff have reduced discretionary capital projects and deferred an $800,000 renovation to the Milton drop‑off center to preserve reserves. She said the project team is pursuing value engineering and grant funding; commissioners confirmed the district received a grant from the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources that will be applied to the MRF purchase and development.

The board voted to adopt the ordinance language as presented with changes discussed at the meeting. The roll call showed the motion passed 23 to 3. District counsel noted that ordinance amendments require at least 60 days' notice before taking effect and that publication and a petition window (a minority‑petition right to call a special meeting of voters) are part of the process.

Commissioners and staff said their next steps include sending the revised ordinance language to member towns and cities and coordinating the timing between ordinance effective dates and the FY2026 budget process. Staff told the board the additional $10 per ton — if implemented — would be directed to a project reserve fund for the MRF.