Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Solid Waste topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Smyth County board approves 5% solid‑waste fee increase amid cross‑county hauling concerns
Summary
The board approved a 5% increase in solid‑waste fees (tipping fee from $80/ton to $84/ton, minimum from $5.00 to $5.25). Commissioners discussed operational costs, cross‑county hauling and whether changing convenience-station hours could reduce costs.
The Smyth County Board approved a 5% increase in solid‑waste fees to reflect contract and operational cost pressures, raising the tipping fee from $80 per ton to $84 and the minimum fee from $5.00 to $5.25.
Staff and operations personnel explained the increase is intended to align county rates with an automatic annual escalation in the county's waste contract. One county official summarized the local revenue impact in rough terms: "It's $4 on the fee," noting that total annual additional income would be modest (estimates discussed during the meeting ranged around $40,000–$50,000). Board members raised questions about cross‑county hauling and the difficulty of policing origin of waste without stickers, and suggested better signage and aligning hours with neighboring Washington County to reduce overflow and peak loads.
After discussion of station utilization and operational costs — including an estimate that operating the convenience‑station network runs about $100,000 per week across staffed days (about $600,000 a year) — the board moved to adopt the proposed rate changes.
