SPSA previews budget with $6/ton municipal tip-fee hike and health-insurance cost shifts for employees

Dennis Bagley, SPSA executive director, presented a budget preview that would add $6 per ton to the municipal tip fee for the approximately 108,000 tons processed at the Frederick Boulevard facility; he said that number had been included in materials provided to member localities in January. Bagley said the April board packet will include the full proposed budget and that the board will set a public hearing on the tip-fee schedule at the April meeting.

On employee costs, Bagley said health insurance premiums returned with a roughly 25% increase and that the added cost equates to about $500,000 in employer expense if employees stayed on prior plans. "Health insurance premiums came back this year, and they were 25% increase," Bagley said. The proposed budget includes a 3.5% pay increase for general wage employees, while employees would absorb a large portion of the premium increase; Bagley estimated employees would absorb "more than 75%" of the premium rise but said final percentages depend on plan-selection data.

Sandy, an SPSA staff member, gave an example: employee-only premiums that most employees paid at around $17 per pay period would rise to about $50 per pay period under the new rates, while a family plan could see roughly a $200-per-month increase in employee cost.

Bagley also previewed a tiered approach for commercial contract waste pricing to reflect increased hauling and disposal costs and said SPSA will bring detailed tiered proposals and revenue/expenditure modeling to upcoming budget meetings. The board will review the full proposed budget at the April meeting and is scheduled to vote on the budget at the May 27 meeting after a month for review.