Council discusses landfill host fee, directs staff to draft ordinance to route fee from sanitation charges

City staff and Chief Wilson briefed the council on a contract with the East Arkansas Regional Solid Waste District that requires the city to pay a host fee tied to landfill tipping fees and discussed how the city should collect or allocate that payment.

Chief Wilson (speaker 12) said, "We have a contract with the solid waste district now that, we are to pay a host fee," and explained his suggestion that the fee be collected from the sanitation portion of water-bill collections and that the water department remit the host-fee portion to the landfill each month. City attorney (speaker 5) explained the background: the city previously used a local sales tax to offset landfill charges but the district now requires the city to show evidence it is paying the host fee under the 2025 contract.

Councilors asked for projections and the potential impact on the sanitation department and the city’s general fund. Staff estimated the reallocation could be about $15,000 a month on average (city-side tonnage calculations were discussed) and emphasized the need for a process that would either earmark funds within sanitation collections or modestly raise sanitation fees so the cost would not be absorbed by general revenues without council approval.

Council directed staff to prepare two ordinances for the next meeting: one to implement the water-rate change and another to formalize the host-fee mechanism (either earmark funds from current sanitation fees or a small increase to sanitation fees). The council asked for a detailed projection of fiscal effects before approving a final approach.

Next steps: Chief Wilson and staff to return with a proposed ordinance or resolution, projected monthly revenue/expense impacts, and options for earmarking or rate adjustments.