Minutes 01/27/2009 - Laserfiche WebLink

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January 27.2009 WHEREAS, the City of Suffolk does not pay any tipping fee for solid waste management services, or for any other services provided by SPSA, pursuant to its agreement with SPSA to host the regional landfill; and WHEREAS, the City of Virginia Beach currently pays tipping fees for solid waste management services capped at the sum of $53.88 per ton of municipal solid waste, pursuant to its agreement with SPSA allowing the deposit of ash at the Virginia Beach municipal landfill; and WHEREAS, on January 7, 2009, the SPSA Board of Directors approved a preliminary schedule of tipping fees which will increase the amount paid by the Cities of Franklin, Chesapeake, Norfolk and Portsmouth and by the Counties of Isle of Wight and Southampton to the sum of $245.00 per ton of municipal solid waste; and WHEREAS, the SPSA Board of Directors is scheduled to hold a public hearing and take final action by approving, disapproving or modifying the preliminary tipping fee schedule on January 28, 2009; and WHEREAS, in the event the SPSA Board of Directors approve the preliminary tipping fee schedule, the increase in the municipal solid waste tipping fee is proposed to become effective on February 2,2009; and WHEREAS, the increase in tipping fees to $245.00 per ton of municipal solid waste will require the member jurisdictions, other than the Cities of Suffolk and Virginia Beach, to carry a widely disproportionate share of the costs of operating and maintaining the SPSA waste management facilities; and WHEREAS, the increase in tipping fees to $245.00 per ton of municipal solid waste during the 2008/2009 fiscal year will have immediate and potentially severe financial impact on the member jurisdictions, other than the Cities of Suffolk and Virginia Beach, especially in light of the economic hardship facing the Commonwealth of Virginia and the United States of America at this time; and WHEREAS, the proposed increased in the tipping fees will result in a deficit of $3,100,000 in the City of Portsmouth's operating budget for the Fiscal Year 2008/2009; and WHEREAS, SPSA has not conducted transparent negotiations with the governing bodies of the member jurisdictions regarding the proposed increase in tipping fees for municipal solid waste; nor has SPSA attempted to work with the governing bodies to resolve ongoing issues of disparate tipping fees and unequal financial burdens among the SPSA members; and WHEREAS, the Council of the City of Portsmouth requests the opportunity to work with the other member jurisdictions and the SPSA Executive Director and Board of Directors to address the current financial crisis facing SPSA, while at the same time, maintaining reasonable tipping fees for municipal solid waste; and WHEREAS, in order to give the City of Portsmouth and other member jurisdictions an opportunity to participate in developing and implementing solutions, the public hearing scheduled for January 28, 2009 must be deferred for a minimum of sixty days; and WHEREAS, the Council of the City of Portsmouth supports and requests such a deferral of the public hearing and action on the preliminary tipping fee schedule.