Recently Picayune’s City Council approved a rate increase for garbage collection due to an increase implemented at the county landfill, owned by Waste Management.
Apparently, the Council was unaware the rate increase had taken place, according to previous coverage. According to minutes recorded by the Pearl River County Board of Supervisors, the Board approved rate change was voted on at the Aug. 19, 2015 meeting, increasing the rate per ton from $22.50 to $33.
It appears as though there was a lack of communication between the Board of Supervisors and the City Council.
Board President Sandy Kane Smith and Supervisor Malcolm Perry admit that the rate increase was negotiated between the Board and Waste Management, but did not think to notify the Council.
“I hate that, but it was one of those things none of us thought about at the time,” Perry said.
Perry said that looking back they should have pushed back approving the rate increase until they got a chance to notify the city, which would have given the Council a chance to modify their budget.
The rate increase was negotiated between the Board and Waste Management for several reasons.
“Waste Management’s Central Landfill previously operated on a 20-year-old agreement and rate structure with the Pearl River County Board of Supervisors. Due to cost increases over that period associated with this landfill operation, new environmental regulations, and the limited service area available, the prospect was to either increase disposal rates or close Central Landfill,” according to a written statement from Waste Management.
County Administrator Adrain Lumpkin said it’s Waste Management’s right to negotiate for a higher rate, because the landfill belongs to them.
The only involvement the county has with the landfill is to ensure residents have access to some form of waste disposal, as mandated by law, and the settlement of a decades old lawsuit, Lumpkin said.
One of the other reasons the rate was negotiated dealt with a request from county residents seeking access to the landfill on Saturdays. Smith and Perry said they received requests from county residents to provide that access.
But since commercial haulers don’t run on Saturdays, and since county residents were permitted to bring two bags of waste and unlimited amounts of rubbish to the site for free, Waste Management requested the increase, Lumpkin said.
Under the new agreement, residents can bring up to four 50-gallon bags, filled with rubbish or trash, to the site for free, Lumpkin said. The county administrator added that, to his knowledge, this county is the only one with an option for residents to bring their garbage to a landfill for free.
Concerns from the collection company that serves residents in the city of Picayune, Progressive Waste Solutions, prompted a rate increase to those residents of $1.50 per month.
However, Perry, Lumpkin and Smith all say they have not received any complaints from private haulers that serve residents outside of municipalities.
One of the other changes outlined in the new agreement entails a larger amount being paid to the county by Waste Management. Perry said previous to the change, that amount was .75 per ton, now it’s $1.50. He said that amounts to about $2,000 per quarter.
Former Supervisor Anthony Hales, the only board member in the previous administration to vote against the increase, said he voted against it for several reasons, one of which was because of how it would affect the residents; the second reason dealt with his lack of knowledge in the matter since he was not involved in the negotiations.
Waste Management gained ownership of the landfill in the early 1990s, Lumpkin said. Prior to that, it was owned by a private individual who leased 16th section land. When Waste Management took ownership, they bought an additional 400 acres.
Even though the county does not own the property, Waste Management is obligated to negotiate rate changes with the Board of Supervisors because of a lawsuit settlement, Lumpkin said. Back in the 1990s, Waste Management wanted to increase their coverage area, or the area from which waste could be brought to the landfill. Residents were concerned that garbage from New Orleans would be included in that coverage area, leading to the suit. Lumpkin said the settlement mandated that the coverage area would only entail counties and parishes that touched the borders of Pearl River County. A recent change to that agreement added more counties in Mississippi, but specifically excluded New Orleans, Lumpkin said.