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Resident questions $3.20 solid‑waste assessment on commercial property
Summary
A Minneapolis landowner told commissioners he pays a $3.20 solid‑waste assessment on his property-tax bill despite hauling construction‑type waste by truck; staff said the fee funds landfill operating costs and an exemption application is pending appraiser review.
Dwayne Brown told the Ottawa County Commission he was surprised to see a $3.20 solid‑waste assessment on his property-tax bill and said he does not generate household garbage at his commercial shop. “I’m paying $320 for household garbage, and I don’t have any household garbage at my shop,” Brown said, adding that he already pays dump fees when he hauls construction‑type material to the landfill.
County staff explained the charge is an assessment meant to cover the county’s operating costs for the landfill, hauling and regional tipping fees. “The assessment is to cover our cost, the county cost to maintain the landfill…as well as to pay the tipping fees in Salina,” an agency official told the board. Staff noted residents pay a different base rate (recorded in materials as $1.80), while many commercial accounts are assessed $3.20 or charged on a tonnage basis.
Commissioners and staff said Brown has filed a solid‑waste exemption and that staff are awaiting the appraiser’s recommendation before formal commission action. A commissioner suggested that, for small businesses with low annual tonnage, switching to a tonnage‑based billing method could be more advantageous and asked staff to examine options and bring a recommendation to the commission. The board does not yet have a decision on the exemption; staff said the case will return to the commission after the appraiser’s review.
