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Brown County waives landfill tipping fees for Homes Are Possible projects for three years
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Summary
Brown County Commission approved a three-year waiver of landfill tipping fees for demolition material from properties acquired and rehabilitated by Homes Are Possible, Inc., with exclusions for foundations and heavy inert material; commissioners added a three-year review/window and discussed caps and tonnage concerns.
Derek Beckius, executive director of Homes Are Possible, Inc., asked the Brown County Commission to waive landfill tipping fees for demolition material from properties his nonprofit acquires and rehabilitates, saying the savings would help keep renovated homes affordable for low- and moderate-income buyers. "What I'm looking at requesting is having the county waive the tipping fees at the landfill, for these properties that we removed," Beckius said.
The commission heard Beckius describe the nonprofit's work — he said the organization has taken on about 80 infill lots over more than 20 years — and estimated that waiving tipping fees could save roughly $2,000–$3,000 per house depending on size and contents. Beckius said those savings, though modest per house, can materially improve affordability for buyers near program income limits.
Commissioners asked about scale and safeguards. Questions focused on how many houses the program would cover annually (Beckius estimated typically four to six), whether a streamlined approval process could be used for batches of properties, and which materials would be eligible. County officials clarified that foundations, general concrete, dirt and other heavy inert material would be excluded from the waiver because they have market value or impose large tonnage costs.
After discussion of program limits and financial impacts to the landfill enterprise fund, a commissioner moved to waive tipping fees for demolition material from the nonprofit's projects for three years, with the program to be revisited at the end of that period; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote. Commissioners noted the possibility of placing an upper limit on the number of properties or a tonnage cap while the program is in effect.
The commission also separately approved a drawdown request to fund a landfill compactor during the same meeting.
The waiver takes effect immediately as recorded in the meeting minutes; commissioners said they will revisit results and fiscal impacts at the end of the three-year period.
