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Delta County board agrees to put solid-waste millage question on August ballot
Summary
The board voted to place a millage measure for recycling, hazardous-waste collection and the county compost site on the August ballot; the authority’s requested rate after the Headley adjustment is 0.297 and the board directed staff to finalize ballot wording and a resolution.
The Delta County Board of Commissioners voted May 5 to allow the Delta Solid Waste Management Authority to place a millage question on the August ballot to fund recycling, hazardous-waste collection and a county compost site.
A representative of the authority told the board the authority is asking to renew (or reauthorize) the levy and that, after the Headley truth-in-taxation adjustment, the rate would be 0.297 (previously 0.3). The authority said it used environmental-law attorneys Foster Swift Collins & Smith PC to draft a resolution and ballot language.
Commissioners asked why hazardous-waste services, recycling and composting are grouped under one millage and whether businesses would receive different treatment. The authority’s representative said household users receive the services under the levy while commercial users pay separate fees (for example, an annual $250 fee for commercial use of the compost site and charges for businesses that bring hazardous waste). The representative said the authority uses clean-sweep grants and other reimbursements where available but still relies on local funding to keep hazardous materials out of the landfill.
After discussion about timing and whether the item should appear on the August primary or the November ballot, the board moved to place the question on the August ballot and approved preparing the necessary resolution and ballot language. The clerk noted the wording (renewal vs. new) could be corrected by the May 12 deadline to meet election schedules.
The motion to place the millage on the August ballot passed by voice vote; the minutes record at least one commissioner expressing opposition during the roll call. The board directed staff to provide corrected ballot wording and a resolution for formal roll-call action as required for the attorneys and election preparation.
Next steps include finalizing the ballot language for the county clerk’s office by the statutory deadline and returning any required resolution for a roll-call vote to support the authority’s submission to the county election office.
