A trash rate increase may be on the horizon for Rio Arriba County residents.
The County Commission met Monday to discuss options for reducing the County’s contribution to the North Central Solid Waste Authority; the County spends $780,000 annually from its general fund to support the Authority. The Commission may decide at its meeting Thursday (11/20) in Tierra Amarilla to increase rates in the County, but by how much has yet to be determined.
Authority Manager Joe Lewandowski presented the Commission with its options, but the Commissioners did not spend much time exploring cuts to services as has been proposed. Commissioner Elias Coriz said people in the County have gotten used to curbside service, and he doesn’t think replacing house-to-house service with transfer stations would go over well.
“These chambers will get full in a heartbeat,” he said.
About 80 percent of County residents receive house-to-house service, excluding some people whose roads are too narrow for garbage trucks to maneuver and the communities of Lybrook, Tres Piedras and the area between Lumberton and Dulce, according to information from the Authority.
However, Coriz also said he doesn’t think it is a good time to increase rates on County residents, citing a floundering economy. Commission Chairman Alfredo Montoya agreed the County should be mindful of residents’ economic situations.
“I’m kinda concerned right now that our residents are feeling the pinch,” Montoya said. “People are hurting.”
According to information compiled by the Authority, its operation in Española supports itself. Española residents pay $13.74 a month for the service before taxes; the city’s commercial accounts infuse nearly $800,000 into the Authority annually; and because the city pays the Authority directly, billing costs are less than in the County.
County residents pay $10.80 a month for trash service before taxes, excluding the village of Chama and tribal entities. Authority workers have to cover a lot of ground in the County, and seven transfer and convenience stations must be staffed to serve County residents, compared to only one in Española, according to Authority documents.
According to Authority documents, 75 percent of the Authority’s labor costs (nearly $1.5 million) go to service for the County. Including equipment, fuel and other costs, the County costs about $3.3 million a year to serve, while Española is closer to $1.2 million.
Assistant County Manager and Authority Board Chairman Tomas Campos urged the Commission to accept a $5 increase for County residents. He said when the Authority took over service from the County in 2005, he wanted a $15 monthly rate, but the Commission disagreed. At the time, Lewandowski also suggested increasing efficiency and bill collection before raising rates on paying customers, and a $10 rate was agreed on.
Lewandowski said collections are higher than 90 percent in the County, though about $1.2 million is still outstanding on delinquent accounts. Some people who owe have worked out payment plans with the Authority, but the Authority has placed nearly 800 liens on properties for nonpayment. Those outstanding bills account for about $700,000 of the $1.2 million, Lewandowski said.
Lewandowski said he has seen many delinquent accounts get paid off recently. Liens keep properties from being sold or transferred; Lewandowski said people who want to refinance their homes have been coming in to pay off their outstanding balances. He said the Authority collected between $30,000 and $40,000 in the past month from people who wanted to rid their properties of liens.
He said the Authority plans to sign a contract with the Modrall Sperling Law Firm in Albuquerque to crack down on those with liens against their properties. He said he will send one more certified letter before directing the firm to take “whatever legal action necessary” to collect outstanding bills.
Legal fees (Lewandowski said the firm will charge $180 an hour), along with the cost of filing and removing the liens (each costs $9) and sending certified letters (about $4 apiece) will be passed along to the delinquent-account holders, though the Authority can waive penalties and interest for people who want to pay.
County Manager Lorenzo Valdez said he wanted the Commission in 2005 to give the Authority the power to set its own rates and leave the decision out of the County’s hands.
“Why do you wanna be in the middle?” Valdez asked the Commission at the time. “It’s politically dangerous.”
Now Campos said he worries a budget crunch may hit the County, as the economy may worsen and the state is projecting a shortfall.
“We’re kind of sitting above it right now,” he said. “There’s impacts that we can’t foresee.”
Campos said the County has lately been focusing on building new structures, but those buildings, such as the Health Commons, proposed recreational center in Alcalde and community centers like La Arbolera in Chimayó will take money to run.
“All I see is operational costs,” he said.
Campos said it is important that the County preserve as much of its general fund as it can. He kept going back to a $15.80 monthly rate, saying a one-time increase will be easier for County residents to swallow than incremental increases spread out over several years.
However, Montoya backed away from a $5 increase and asked more about increases of $1 to $3 a month. Commissioner Felipe Martinez was also looking more in the $2 or $3 range. According to Lewandowski’s projections, rates in the County would have to go to $17.80 per month for the County’s general fund contribution to cease completely. Martinez noted that a $2 increase would still save the County $228,000 a year.
“We could do a lot with that,” he said.
Montoya agreed a smaller increase could ease the burden on the County, and no one suggested increasing the rates to $17.80 all at once.
“I just don’t see how the County will get out of supplementing this to some extent,” Montoya said.
The Authority starts sending out new punch cards and rate structures in December, so the Commission will have to act before the end of November if it wants new rates to go into effect next year.