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County staff recommend big sanitation fee increases to cover landfill cell and operations; commissioners schedule town hall
Summary
A consultant’s revenue-sufficiency study showed multi-year deficits in DeKalb’s sanitation fund and recommended a substantial first-year increase (25% proposed) and future annual increases; commissioners asked for alternative scenarios, equity adjustments and scheduled a town hall before any vote.
A revenue-sufficiency study for DeKalb County’s sanitation fund showed recurring deficits and an unfunded need to begin landfill-cell expansion within a few years, prompting staff to propose an aggressive multi-year rate plan and for the committee to schedule public outreach before voting.
Arcadis consultant Robert Ryle told the Public Works & Infrastructure committee that sanitation has operated at a deficit over the past five years and that current fees do not generate sufficient revenue to meet operations, vehicle replacement and expected capital needs. "Sanitation has operated at a deficit," Ryle said, adding that deficits rose significantly in recent years and that, without revenue adjustments, the fund balance would further erode.
Ryle said the current landfill cell has roughly three to four years of capacity and that cell expansion planning and construction require several years to complete and must be funded in advance. To address both the operating deficit and the capital need, the study proposes a sizable first-year residential increase (about 25%, roughly $6.50 per month for a typical single-cart customer) followed by additional increases over several years. The proposed schedule is intended to both stabilize operations and provide contributions to a post-closure fund and vehicle-replacement schedule.
Commissioners pressed for alternatives that would smooth the first-year impact (for example, 15% then 15% followed by lower annual increases) and asked staff to model scenarios that include other revenue sources (methane/landfill-gas contracts), diversion via composting or biosolids processing at Pole Bridge and targeted equity measures.
Commissioner proposals included: aligning the tire-fee to a regional best practice (reducing illegal dumping incentives), offering a rebate or reduced rate for residents living near the landfill, and exploring exemptions or rebates tied to senior homestead or low-income property tax exemptions. Staff agreed to run the requested scenarios and provide distribution maps, and the committee voted to hold the item in committee and to present the proposal at an evening town hall in early June so residents could comment before any final vote.
No rate ordinance was adopted at the meeting; staff will return with refined scenarios, ordinance language and outreach materials that include the requested equity adjustments and compost/diversion analyses.
