County council hears about garbage budget
20-11-2024 5:54 p.m.
Northumberland County
Northumberland County council is beating every bush to find savings for the 2025 budget, but a look at its garbage-collection service seems to show no way to cut back in that area
While combing for savings they hope will bring the Northumberland County tax increase for 2025, Cobourg Mayor Lucas Cleveland put forth a modest proposal – end garbage collection.
Cleveland said he was just asking in the spirit of starting a discussion, as he did two budget cycles back when he suggested to Cobourg council that transit was a luxury. Maybe budget savings could be achieved by giving up garbage collection?
“My understanding is that garbage collection is a user-pay system,” Trent Hills Mayor Bob Crate said.
“It's close,” Associate Director of Operations Adam McCue answered.
“We charge a bag-tag fee - $4.25 right now – and collect organics and leaf-and-yard waste free. We're transitioning to a producer-responsibility for recyclables, and we get full reimbursement from producers.
“User fees from bag tags large cover garbage collection costs, and leaf-and-yard waste and organics.”
Chief Administrative Officer Jennifer Moore said these diversions have another value, preserving scarce space in the county's one remaining landfill.
McCue said $3.5-million is raised in bag tags to offset waste collection, but does not cover a variety of costs – landfill costs, costs of the Community Recycling Centres, management of closed landfills, costs of handing off organics and household hazardous waste collected. This is a $7-million annual cost that does go on the tax levy.
Some quick math was done, and it was estimated bag-tag costs would have to double to cover the full bill.
Cramahe Mayor Mandy Martin asked how much time is left for the last landfill, and McCue said it should be full by 2035. That's about 10 years, he said, and the environmental assessment alone will take five years. Work will start on that process soon, he said, and the money for it is already set aside.