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Commissioners weigh raising the residential environmental fee to eliminate $1M solid-waste subsidy
Summary
Board members flagged a recurring $1 million annual subsidy to the solid-waste enterprise fund and discussed raising the $5 monthly environmental fee on improved residential parcels to cover operations; staff said a roughly $2 monthly increase (to about $7) would eliminate the subsidy.
St. Mary's County commissioners spent part of their March 10 budget work session discussing the county's solid-waste and recycling enterprise fund and an annual subsidy of roughly $1 million that currently covers the operating gap.
Solid-waste staff explained that the county assesses a $5 monthly environmental fee (charged on improved residential parcels) and that the fee has not been changed since it was established. "If you take $1,000,000 and divide by 40,000 improved parcels, that would give you $24 a year—about $2 a month—so a $7 total monthly fee would eliminate the $1,000,000 subsidy," a staff speaker told commissioners.
Commissioners and staff discussed alternatives used in other jurisdictions, including building scheduled increases or escalators into the ordinance to phase toward full cost recovery rather than a single-step hike. Commissioners asked staff to return with updated figures and options; several said a modest recurring fee increase that covers ongoing costs would be preferable to continuing to subsidize operations from the general fund.
What's next: solid-waste staff will return with detailed rate models and scenarios (including phased increases and whether to include past debt or only future operating costs) so the board can consider options during the budget process.
