BE IT RESOLVED, that a public hearing to obtain comment on revisions to Hennepin County Ordinance 15-Solid Waste Management Fee, be held before the Public Works Committee of the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday, June 5, 2018, at 1:30 p.m. or as soon thereafter as practicable in Room A-2400 of the Hennepin County Government Center, in the city of Minneapolis; and that the Clerk of the Board be directed to publish notice of the public hearing.

History: Ordinance 15-Solid Waste Management Fee, was established in 1994 to fund environmental programs that protect human and environmental health. These programs include waste prevention, recycling and organics recycling, as well as environmental education and protection programs. The ordinance requires waste haulers to charge a fee on trash service and remit this fee to the county. Fee revenue is deposited in the Solid Waste Enterprise Fund. Ordinance 15 was last amended in 1995. 

Current Request: This request is for the board to set a public hearing on Tuesday, June 5, 2018, before the Public Works Committee of the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners to obtain comment on proposed revisions to Ordinance 15. The county will notify haulers and nonprofit resale stores by letter and include a notice in the Environment and Energy Department’s monthly e-newsletter. The county is proposing three key revisions to Ordinance 15:

1. Add a definition of billing agent to make the billing and remittance policy easier to implement.  A billing agent is an entity other than the hauler that bills and collects for mixed waste services that the hauler provides. The billing agent may not be a licensed hauler but may bill, collect, report and remit solid waste management fees. An example of a billing agent is a city with organized collection that bills residents for trash service. 
   
2. Require waste haulers that are licensed to do business in the county to submit a solid waste management fee report every month, including months in which no fees were billed or collected. This would provide evidence that a hauler was not providing solid waste management services to businesses or residents in the county during that time period and did not need to remit any fees.  
3. Add nonprofit resale shops to the definition of residential generators. A nonprofit resale store is a nonprofit retail store organized under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code that accepts household goods donated by residents. Currently, nonprofit resale shops are considered nonresidential generators under Ordinance 15. Staff believes approximately 20 nonprofit resale shops operate in the county. This definition change would reduce the financial burden on nonprofit resale stores when managing the disposal of waste of donated household goods that are not fit for resale. The financial impact to the county would be a revenue reduction of approximately $75,000-$100,000.

Impact/Outcomes: The public hearing will provide constituents and haulers the opportunity to share their feedback about the impact of the proposed revisions.