The Virginian-Pilot
©
NORFOLK
A majority of the Norfolk City Council called on the cities of Virginia Beach and Suffolk to renegotiate the fees they pay, or don't pay, to have their trash disposed of.
The comments came during a presentation at which council members learned that trash fees for Norfolk residents will more than double, from $16.91 per month to $34.98, if rate increases proposed by the regional waste authority are passed on to residents.
The Southeastern Public Service Authority has proposed increasing "tipping fees" that cities pay for disposal of their trash to $245 per ton from $104 per ton later this month. The new fee would be the highest in the nation.
The increase would not affect Virginia Beach, the state's largest city; its fees were capped decades ago at $58. Residents of Suffolk pay nothing because that city hosts a landfill. The burden of the increases would fall on Norfolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Franklin, Isle of Wight County and Southampton County.
"Now I know why Chesapeake has been trying to get out of SPSA," Norfolk Councilman W. Randy Wright said.
The Portsmouth City Council did not formally discuss the issue Tuesday night, but Councilman Charles B. Whitehurst Sr. indicated he is not pleased with the increase.
"We have to look at all strategies, including SPSA going bankrupt," he said. "I can't see us approving a $245 tipping fee."
Norfolk Mayor Paul Fraim said he discussed the issue Monday with other mayors in the region.
"I believe there's a feeling in Suffolk and Virginia Beach that they need to participate in solving this problem," he said. "They don't want the message to go out to business that Hampton Roads" has the most expensive waste disposal in America.
Suffolk Mayor Linda Johnson said she and other city officials "all know there are real problems with SPSA" and that they are exploring many options. When asked whether Suffolk would agree to paying tipping fees, she replied: "We have not had that discussion."
Norfolk Councilman Don Williams, who heads the SPSA board, explained that when the deal with Virginia Beach was made, it was necessary to entice the Beach to join SPSA. Moreover, at the time, the tipping fees were $12, he said.
Nonetheless, Norfolk Councilman Barclay C. Winn said: "It was a bad deal. Those cities need to realize they're putting the burden on the cities that can least afford to pay it."
Norfolk has absorbed most of SPSA's recent fee increases, but City Manager Regina V.K. Williams said that even in a best-case scenario, it can pay just $1 million of the $5.9 million increase SPSA has proposed.
If businesses are asked to shoulder the full increase, their costs would rise to $76.41 per month, up from $36.94.
"The citizens are just going to have to absorb the increased costs," Councilman Paul R. Riddick said. "It's unfortunate, but that's how it is."
Pilot writer Cheryl Ross contributed to this report.
Harry Minium, (757) 446-2371, harry.minium@pilotonline.com
Delicious
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
Twitter
Google
Yahoo
SELL SPSA
With an offer on the table, sell SPSA off, if even at a loss, the difference between sale price and SPSA's debt can be split between all participating localities---and split on a per capita basis, that way every citizen pays a fair/equal share--at that point allow the cities to solicit bids for service from the private sector. Businesses know how to make money while controlling expenses, government only knows how to spend money at ever increasing levels. While we'll never remove the trash from politics, we can remove the politics from trash.
More on PTown
When the tipping fee issue first came to light, the Pilot reported that during SPSA's last increase is tipping fees from $57 to $104, Norfolk chose to absorb the cost into its budget (created wholly by tax dollars) rather than pass it on to rate payers, which includes even those who are, by income level, exempt from taxes except those collected by McDonalds. Maybe PTown citizenry shouldn't have aided in the election of a succubus to the state senate or invested in that Renaissance money hole, it too might have been able to rob Peter to pay Paul. Of course, having the area's highest rental rate (which I'm sure includes lots of Section 8) doesn't help with creating a tax base upon which you can lean when the unexpected isn't planned for.
If PTown wants to know why its losing population, it need only remember that you can fleece a sheep forever, but you can only skin him once.
Lets Revolt
The MORONS on City Council created this monster. Lets all collect our trash canS and roll them down the street to the Mayor and City Council members houses and dump the trash where it belongs in their back yard so they can clean up the mess they created when SPSA was a VISIONARY PROJECT!!! Every time Mayor Fraim comes up with a hairbrain idea it is called visionary by his moron supporters.
Your choice.
Norfolk to Va. Beach: Start paying your fair share of the tipping fees, or we'll double your water rates. You can blast Norfolk all day long, but how about a city of 400K people that doesn't own its own water works. Brilliant, just brilliant....
P-Town
In P-town we already pay $32/month for some reason. Norfolk is paying about half what we are, and has been paying less for years. Perhaps they should pick up Portsmouth's portion too. And to the person who suggested we separate water from refuse billing, there is a reason it is that way. The city is well aware that many of us won't pay $32/month for refuse, so they bundle it with water to force you to pay it. It's also illegal to remove refuse from Portsmouth or to dispose of it anywhere but a Portsmouth approved site. I'm pretty sure if you put a well in and cut off your water, they would condemn your house. So much for having any choice. I think SPSA should shut down and cities should take competitive bids from the private industry.
Questions
1. Who approves the "proposed" rate increase?
2. Why didn't Norfolk have some provision written into the operating agreement to protect against this situation? More poor planning.
3. Is Norfolk mandated to take their trash there? If not we could probably haul it half way across the country at these prices. Let's boycott!
Stop Whining
Norfolk had a chance to reduce the tipping fees. Why didn't they push to have the ReEnergy proposal on the table? Something smells rotton in the garbage can.
VB should just go ahead and pull out now. They manage their own recycling effort, I am sure they could handle garbage collection.
Wasn't SPSA created to Create energy for localities?!?!?
I thought when SPSA came to town, they were supposed to take our garbage and create energy for the localities with it? Here is an idea…start charging by weight for garbage just as water usage is. By doing so, a house of 2 pays as fair as a house of 6 and it encourages recycling. Simply allowing people to dump their own garbage will see empty lots and cul-de-sacs becoming dumping grounds again. Times have changed for all localities. Va. Beach’s current capped rates encourage more garbage and less recycling and create more costs when they are the farthest from the landfills and the largest city. Why doesn’t Va. Beach create their own landfill instead of golf courses and town centers? The capped fees should go to Suffolk for hosting the landfill but they certainly shouldn’t be exempt from the expense if they are the fastest growing city incurring the largest amount of building waste.
I just don't get it
I get why Suffolk should get some benifit from "hosting" the landfill... but NO FEE FOREVER... just doesn't make sense... clearly SPSA incurrs costs for doing SUFFOLK trash that grow as SUFFOLK grows... so the benifit for hosing the landfill keeps increasing? Or to be more clear... some one new builds a house in SUFFOLK and everyone in the cities other than SUFFOLK pick up the trash bill???
Oh - except for VA Beach... whomever in the beach that signed a deal with a set price forever should get a medal... the most brilliant deal ever struck by a VA Beach politician... perhaps the only one.... But again as the Beach grows every one else pays the trash bill... nonsence...
What was the reasoning for the CAP in the beach - I don't know the history.
Area politicians have got to fix this... its been a train wreck for years... and just getting worse.
fees
i do agree that we should do everything we can to keep these services and jobs local.what i don't agree with is the way the city officials put their poor mismanagement practices on other city's.Suffolk has the main landfill,they have the burden of dealing with whatever toxic waste that will come from the landfill years and years from now,will any other city help with that?.because the city of va beach had the foresight of putting a cap on waste charges they should pay a higher price?if you are a prudent shopper and i am not,should you be made to pay the higher prices i paid because i did not shop around or negotiate the deals?va beach should have the choice to negotiate another deal with a price cap,that would be only fair.don't confuse good management with what you think should be.i think there should be an increase to save this service for the other two cities,but not at what was stated here.