Affording an essential service

Posted 1/17/17

The cost of a basic municipal service - disposal of trash - is about to go up for all Rhode Island cities and towns with the exception of Johnston and Tiverton. Johnston won't see an increase in tipping fees at the state landfill because it is home to

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Affording an essential service

Posted

The cost of a basic municipal service – disposal of trash – is about to go up for all Rhode Island cities and towns with the exception of Johnston and Tiverton. Johnston won’t see an increase in tipping fees at the state landfill because it is home to the landfill and under that arrangement gets to use the facility for free. Tiverton, on the other hand, has its own landfill.

But for the rest of us, including New Shoreham, the tipping fee will increase from $32 per ton to $39.50 as of July 1 and then bump to $47 a ton in the 2019 fiscal year, according to the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation. Municipal tipping fees, which are far below those of commercial users, have not been increased since 1992. The revenue generated by higher tipping fees will be used to expand operations by 100 acres, extending the life of the landfill to 2038, according to RIRRC projections.

The agency has worked to make this fundamental municipal service both affordable and sustainable. Municipalities have quotas on tonnage dumped in order to gain the preferred lower tipping fee. In addition, municipalities are rewarded on recyclables removed from the waste stream, thereby enhancing the life of the landfill. The state has seen a steady increase in the flow of recyclables, although, unfortunately, the demand for recyclables has waned and the monetary returns to municipalities has declined.

So, what does higher tipping fees at the state landfill mean to Rhode Islanders not living in Johnston and Tiverton?

According to a story in the Sunday Journal, Pawtucket Mayor Donald Grebien, president of the RI League of Cities and Towns, is concerned by the impact on municipal budgets and ultimately the property taxpayer. The first step in the increase would hike Warwick costs from $769,696 to $950,094. The bill for Cranston taxpayers would go from $676,832 to $835,465. Across the board, the increases would bring in an additional $2.2 million to Resource Recovery.

Are these big numbers?

Purely on the basis of percentage increases, it would appear so. The first bump in the tipping fee represents a 23 percent increase that would be followed by a 19 percent increase starting July 1, 2018. Collectively, that’s a 47 percent increase from the $32 fee – a big number.

But let’s put this in context. The Warwick increase in the first year is less than $200,000, or about two cents on the tax rate. That’s $4 on a home valued at $200,000. The math is comparable for Cranston taxpayers.

This is not to suggest municipal leaders should not question the increase. Ensuring that Rhode Island Resource Recovery is operating efficiently and that the finite resource of the landfill is not squandered is critical to day-to-day municipal operations and our future.

Also, this is an issue we all can affect. Increased recycling is within our reach. We have the ability to impact our taxes and prolong the life of the landfill. For the moment, let’s make sure Resource Recovery is operating soundly and that they have the funds to do the job.

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