Caswell County commissioners reach consensus to revise solid-waste availability and disposal fees

Renee, a county staff member, told the Caswell County Board of Commissioners at a budget work session that the outstanding item for the day was a review of the solid-waste fee structure and recommendations for availability and disposal charges.

The discussion centered on two proposed changes. Staff said the proposal would set a universal availability fee of $55 for households that are not currently billed for availability; households that already pay a monthly solid-waste service fee would see a modest increase from $1.25 to $1.30 (as presented by staff). For residents who do not have curbside pickup or a dumpster service, staff described an additional disposal charge of $75. County staff said the proposed mix of fees yields approximately the same revenue as the earlier proposal presented to commissioners the prior week.

Commissioners also discussed how multifamily properties and mobile-home parks would be billed. The staff recommendation presented at the meeting was to charge availability per dwelling unit — for example, a mobile home park with five mobile homes would be assessed five availability charges unless the park provided a dumpster or other collective service. Commissioners asked whether owners who lease lots or rent units would be able to pass the charge through to tenants; staff replied that how the owner chooses to allocate or collect the fee would be up to the owner. The board also discussed making recycling containers available at a town location or county site and noted that town approval would be required for locating a container on municipal property.

Throughout the discussion, staff emphasized that the revenue projection did not change materially under the revised fee structure. After questions about implementation for apartment complexes and leased mobile-home lots, commissioners voiced agreement with the staff approach. A commissioner summarized the proposals as: a $75 disposal charge for users without trash service, a $55 availability fee that would apply to all households, and a small increase for currently billed residents; commissioners then signaled consensus to proceed with the plan for the next steps rather than taking a formal recorded vote at the session.

The conversation closed with staff confirming they would implement the billing distinctions discussed (per dwelling unit when appropriate), pursue a location for a recycling container in coordination with the town, and return with any needed operational details for the budget ordinance.

Next steps: staff will prepare the fee language and implementation details for inclusion in the budget documents and will follow up with municipal officials about siting any recycling container.