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Staff report: Raleigh’s solid-waste services largely user-funded; council asks for fee and compost details
Summary
Staff told council Raleigh’s solid-waste enterprise is proposed to be funded about 99% by user fees and 1% from the general fund for public-good activities; councilors asked for peer-fee comparisons and follow-up on municipal compost/food-waste collection models such as Cary’s use of CompostNow.
Budget staff presented a comparative memo showing how peer North Carolina cities fund solid-waste services. The memo reported a wide range of financing approaches: Wilmington was cited as roughly 99.7% user-fee funded, Winston‑Salem about 17% user‑fee funded, and Raleigh proposed at roughly 99% user‑fee funded with 1% from the general fund to cover public‑good activities such as dead-animal pickup and special-events support.
Councilors asked for more granular peer comparisons on customer rates and whether neighboring municipalities (notably Cary) operate municipal compost or food‑waste collection programs. Solid Waste staff noted they did not identify a municipal-wide compost program in their survey but confirmed Cary has a food-collection arrangement with a contractor (CompostNow). Staff agreed to follow up with a detailed fee comparison and clarify which peers offer compost or food-waste services.
Councilors also asked whether Cary’s fees are lower, and staff said they would provide the comparative fee data. There was no action or vote on changes to rates; staff will return with the requested peer comparisons and information about composting/food-waste programs.
Next steps: staff to provide a follow-up memo with a per-city fee comparison and clarification on compost/food-waste programs and any related fee structures.
