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Washington County staff recommend broad garbage and recycling rate increases after 2025 review
Summary
County staff told commissioners the solid-waste system underperformed in 2025 and recommended a package of rate increases — including a proposed 24.9% hike for medical-waste collection — and asked the board to authorize action at its June 23 meeting. The proposal would keep the reduced-rate assistance program while pursuing urban/rural corrections and a refrigerant-fee change.
Washington County staff presented a detailed annual rate review on June 9 and asked the Board of County Commissioners to authorize an action item on June 23 to raise multiple garbage and recycling collection rates after finding the system underperformed in 2025.
Rusty Davis, the county’s Solid Waste and Recycling manager, told the board that systemwide revenue rose roughly $2.5 million (5.6%) year over year, but direct operational costs increased by about $1.7 million and indirect costs rose about $108,000. “The system underperformed by $1,920,000,” Davis said, and staff’s calculations show adjustments are required to reach the county’s targeted 10% return on revenue (ROR). He added that medical-waste contractors are shipping waste much farther since a West Coast incinerator closed, which “necessitate[s] a rate increase of 24.5%” for medical-waste collection to cover soaring transport and processing costs.
The presentation described the review process used to reach those conclusions: staff compiles detailed cost reports from certified haulers, conducts site visits covering at least 75% of system revenue, and engages an external CPA firm (Marina and Co) to validate anomalies and recommend rate changes. Craig Pope of Marina and Co explained to commissioners that corporate overhead actually declined for the main hauler while bad-debt write-offs and several other fluctuating costs increased, contributing to the indirect-cost rise.
Staff’s recommended package — slated for formal action consideration on June 23 — includes a 3.5% increase for urban residential can-and-cart collection, a 5.6% increase for rural residential collection (which incorporates a one-time 2.1% rural correction), a 5.2% increase for commercial collection, a 4.5% increase for Dropbox and compactor services, a $42.50 per-item fee for refrigerant-containing devices, and a 24.9% increase for medical-waste collection services. As an example, staff said a 32-gallon urban can/cart customer would move to about $31.68 plus a $2 recycling surcharge under the adjustments.
Mira Samantel, the county’s Health and Human Services director, noted the county’s reduced-rate assistance program administered by Community Action remains a key equity measure: the program offers a 75% discount and in 2025 served about 1,338 households. “This is a really exciting program to be able to offer our community members,” Samantel said, while staff and commissioners acknowledged concerns about the program’s sustainability as participation grows and costs track higher than original models.
Staff emphasized that recycling processing costs have declined since the state’s Recycling Modernization Act began implementation on July 1, 2025, and recommended retaining the current $2 recycling surcharge (or 4% for containerized service) for now while monitoring potential future reductions.
Several commissioners expressed support for the recommendations but asked for additional detail before voting. Commissioners pressed staff on how much of the revenue growth was due to new accounts versus prior rate increases and asked staff to provide precise dollar impacts for rural customers; Marina and Co offered to provide further backup on corporate overhead and bad-debt analyses. Staff said they would return with an action item and supplemental data at the June 23 regular meeting.
The board recessed for lunch and planned to reconvene at 1:00 p.m.
