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Stearns County amends environmental service fee appeals panel, adopts update to delinquent refuse certification policy
Summary
The county board adopted Ordinance No. 687 to amend the environmental service fee appeals panel membership and also approved a resolution updating the delinquent refuse account certification and appeals policy; staff said there have been few or no appeals in years.
The Stearns County Board of Commissioners adopted an ordinance amending the county environmental service fee appeals process and approved a related resolution updating the county's delinquent refuse account certification and appeals policy.
At a public hearing, Environmental Services Director Shelley Benson and Environmental Health Supervisor Mark Lateral described proposed language changes to Ordinance No. 188 that would revise Section 8.05 and change membership of the appeals panel. Mark Lateral said the draft ordinance (No. 687) "will amend the original section 8.005 to change the language and the consistency of the appeals panel to 2 representatives from the county auditor's treasurer and 1 from the county assessor's office." He told the board the panel's decisions would be final.
Lateral and Benson told the board they received no public comments in response to the required notice and that appeals under the existing process are rare. "My understanding is... there have been no appeals filed for at least a year or more," one commissioner observed; another suggested it may be more than a decade since the panel last met. Board members asked staff to review whether the county should continue serving as a collection agent for haulers before deciding whether to retain the mechanism.
A motion to adopt Ordinance No. 687 (amending Ordinance No. 188, Section 8.05) was made and seconded; the board approved the ordinance by voice vote. The board then considered a related resolution to update the delinquent refuse account certification and appeals policy (originally adopted as Resolution O172 in 2001). Commissioner Clark moved to adopt the resolution; Commissioner Notch seconded. The board approved the resolution by voice vote.
Board discussion included suggestions for a broader review of the county's role as a collection agent and confirmation from staff that the revision streamlines the appeals panel because appeals are uncommon. Commissioners emphasized the value of due process but asked staff to return with a "10,000-foot" review of whether the ordinance and collection practice remain necessary.
