SALISBURY — Commercial trash haulers or municipalities utilizing the Wicomico County landfill will have a little more time to absorb an increased garbage tipping fee.
Wicomico County Council, during a special June 26 legislative session, amended its fiscal year 2025 operating budget to change the commercial tipping fee rates from $78/ton back to the regular rate of $67/ton for a temporary period from July 1 through Dec. 31.
The council first amended its budget on June 18, after the tipping rates would have increased to $100/ton on July 1, instead lowering the tipping rates to $78/ton.
Starting Jan. 1, the commercial tipping rates will go back to $78, although some businesses said the new fees will “crush” them.
A tipping fee, or gate fee, is the charge levied upon a given quantity of waste received at a landfill or waste processing facility.
“I just want to point out that this resolution takes us from a $2.5 million profit to a $2 million loss in this fiscal year, so if we cap it at the $78 for the full year, we are projecting about a $500,000 loss,” Director of Finance Pam Oland said. “This changes us from a $500,000 loss to a $2 million loss.
As you know, we are supposed to operate this as a business. We are programming ourselves to lose money and lose $2 million.”
Council President John Cannon said the council was aware of the importance of that number, but the problem was that they put themselves in a bind by not giving proper notice of the increased fees to haulers and municipalities.
“No business at all should be given a 100 percent increase, not 100 percent but close to that, and be expected to maintain out of the clear blue. So, I think what we’re doing is beneficial to the businesses of Wicomico County.”
Oland said that based on current projections the county’s break-even point so they don’t have a loss would be $84/ton. Public Works officials have said in previous meetings that the current tipping fees are some of the lowest in the region, adding to demand for the landfill off Brick Kiln Rd.
“The more appealing we are with our rates, the bigger response we are going to get with people coming in to use our landfill, whether they reside in Wicomico County or not,” Deputy Director of Public Works Michael Svaby said during the June 18 meeting. “If we become an attractive market destination and that’s what I believe is happening by and large, we’re going to fill our capacity quicker than expected.
“And I think we are on the road to doing that now. We have one cell left to design and build in the current landfill blueprint.”
Andrew Dooley, co-owner of Seagull Disposal, told the council on June 18 that the increase to $78/ton would be devastating for his business. Additionally, Dooley told the council that he doesn’t think the landfill is as popular for out-of-area haulers due to gas and the hourly payroll for employees.
“We’ve already billed our customers for July,” Dooley said. “That’s why this is really concerning. We have long-term contracts with municipalities, and this would crush us, frankly. Even if it goes to $78 immediately. It would crush us. And it would crush other private haulers that I’ve spoken with.”
Councilman Shane Baker said he is all for giving businesses like Seagull Disposal time to absorb the added charge because they weren’t given that before but is concerned that they would still lose money overall.
“What I don’t like is that we’re putting it in writing here that January 1, it’s going to go up to a dollar amount that we’re still behind the eight-ball,” Baker said.
Some council members, including Councilman Josh Hastings, asked the finance department if they could come up with a five-year projection plan for any future increases in commercial tipping fees at the county-owned landfill.
“It’s certainly not ideal, but I don’t know that we have a whole lot of options,” Hastings said. “Obviously, we want to make sure that we are giving our businesses enough time to be thoughtful about it and to make sure that they’re putting the right plans in place and communicating that to their customers.
“I think either way, we are between a rock and a hard place.”
Reach Managing Editor Richard Caines at rcaines@iniusa.org.
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