BEND, OR -- Deschutes County is ready to raise solid waste franchise fees for unincorporated areas - Those are the fees paid by trash hauling companies like Cascade Disposal, Wilderness Disposal and High Country Disposal. The cost would likely be passed on to customers. 

The money would go to the Community Development Department (CDD) for cleaning up properties overrun with garbage and debris. "This is a growing issue, a growing concern," Tim Brownell, with the Solid Waste Department, told Commissioners Monday, "To this point, CDD has been doing a lot of compliance work through coaxing and cajoling and working with residents. But the problem continues to increase and they’re having more issues with private residents not adhering to those attempts."

Commissioner Phil Chang says compliance efforts are important, but he’s concerned raising the franchise fee is not the best way to pay for code enforcement. Chang asked Brownell, "Is Solid Waste responsible for what’s happening on other people’s private properties? Or is Solid Waste responsible for the stuff people put out on the curb, the stuff that people bring to the landfill?" 

Brownell says it’s actually a great example of countywide coordination. He added, "The aggregation of Solid Waste on private property, where it’s not being controlled, it does create the environmental hazards that the modern sanitary landfills are designed to alleviate."

Commissioners are considering a request to raise rural franchise fees to 5%. In comparison, Brownell said, "The city of Bend is at 7%; city of Redmond is at 3.5%, moving to 7% this year; city of Sisters is also at 7%. So, we’re well below what many of the other jurisdictions in the county are charging." He says the current 3% rate hasn’t changed since the franchise fee was established in county code in 1971. The increase would bring in an estimated $200,000 a year in additional revenue.

Changing the fee requires amending the code, which is expected within the month.