All landowners qualify for in-county solid waste fee

SANDPOINT — Confusion appears to persist over Bonner County’s new solid waste fee structure.

The annual solid waste fee for Bonner County residents is set to rise to $185 on Oct. 1. The fee for out-of-county users, meanwhile, is set to climb to $500.

The latter fee sent shivers up the spines of some part-time landowners during a public hearing on the fee hikes earlier this month. They feared they would be subject to the substantially larger fee because they are not full-time Bonner County residents.

County commissioners, however, emphasized that land ownership in Bonner County qualifies them for the annual in-county rate of $118 even if they are technically not full-time residents.

The proposed fee hikes provoked opposition and questions about whether there were other ways to bankroll the county’s solid waste capital improvement plan, which aims to improve collection sites at Colburn, Idaho and Dickensheet.

But some actually welcomed the fee hike, including the out-of-state charge.

Newport contractor Dale Weathers said he relies on the Idaho Hill collection site and the new out-of-county charge did not give him any pause.

“Five hundred dollars is still a bargain in my book,” Weathers told commissioners during the Sept. 4 public hearing.

The county sought the fee hikes to fund an $8 million capital improvement plan, which is meant to address existing deficiencies at the three sites while accounting for future growth.

Commissioners also portrayed the hikes as a temporary measure that will remain in place only as long as it takes to implement the improvements.

Commissioner Dan McDonald said the solid waste fund only operate with a 5-percent contingency, meaning it cannot be a fund that can build up vast reserves.

“We think it’s going to take 10 years,” McDonald said, referring to the length of time the increased fees would be in place.

However, McDonald said population growth in Bonner County could shorten that time estimate.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.