by Ralph Schwartz
A city-county board charged with running the Skagit County solid-waste system voted 5 to 1 Wednesday to raise the fee charged at the transfer station to cities, commercial garbage haulers and individuals.
The rate increase is $6 per ton, or 7 percent. People bringing in small loads will see the most dramatic increase. The minimum fee at the Ovenell and Sauk transfer stations doubled, from $5 to $10. The fee for single containers at the Clear Lake center increased from $4 to $6.
The rate increase was the first for the county solid-waste system in 10 years.
Sedro-Woolley Councilman Dennis London, filling in for Mayor Mike Anderson, was the lone dissenting vote on the Solid-Waste System Governance Board. He said it was the consensus of the City Council not to agree to the rate increase because it would put an additional burden on the city’s budget. The council recently imposed eight unpaid days off on city employees.
“The rate change may affect our budget to where we have to cut more,” London said after the meeting. “We don’t believe the citizens of Sedro-Woolley would appreciate a new solid-waste increase.”
The county commissioners must vote on the rate change before it goes into effect. County Solid-Waste Division Manager Kevin Renz said the commissioners’ vote would be the same as that of the Governance Board, although the commissioners must hold a public hearing before their vote.
— Ralph Schwartz
