Commissioners move to standardize solid-waste billing after spotty charges and tag confusion

County leaders discussed inconsistent billing for a curbside paper-container pickup service that had left some local governments and private businesses being charged while others were not. The service is a pickup truck operation in which workers change paper rollers at businesses; the fee discussed was described in meeting remarks as about $38.

A commissioner said the county would "rip the bill up" for anyone who does not want the service. Officials encouraged use of Tell City's curbside recycling (a no-cost option) as an alternative. Commissioners also explained they had changed county trash tags to blue to make them visually distinct from tags used by neighboring towns; the chair said tag-color confusion had been causing some cross-jurisdiction billing issues.

A question was raised about whether the county needs an ordinance to set these fees consistently; staff will research and report back. Commissioners emphasized that the goal is consistent treatment across governments and private accounts.

Why it matters: Inconsistent billing and indistinct tags can create collection and revenue-tracking problems for county solid-waste services. Fixing the inconsistency affects businesses, government accounts, and residents who rely on county collection or tagged disposal services.

No formal fee ordinance was adopted during the meeting; staff will research whether an ordinance is required before making a broader policy change.