Council member Patty Miller clarifies parcel fee | Letter
Published 10:57 am Monday, October 24, 2011
As you vote on solid waste, I encourage you to read the county council resolution that summarizes the anticipated changes to the solid waste services. (There is a link to this resolution on the front page of the county website.)
The San Juan County Council created this resolution to describe the system under both the passage and failure of the ballot measure. I hope that this resolution answers many of your questions and helps you cast an informed vote.
There are two items that I would like to clarify.
While you may hear about Plan A and Plan B in the community, there is only one choice on your ballot. A majority vote of “Yes” will result in the implementation of the parcel-based user charge and the system will be what is described as Plan A in the resolution. A majority vote of “No” will result in no user charge, and Plan B as described.
Also, this vote is not about public versus private operation of the solid waste facilities. Under Plan A the operation of the facilities could be provided by the county, a nonprofit, or a for-profit enterprise. Under Plan B services could be provided by either a nonprofit or for-profit enterprise.
The decision you are making is really two key: 1) What type of facilities and services do you want to maintain? and 2) How do you want to pay for those facilities and services? The facilities, types of services, and how you are asked to pay for those, are fundamentally different between the two plans.
Thank you,
San Juan County Council, Orcas East
