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<br />January 27.2009
<br />
<br />NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the City of
<br />Portsmouth, Virginia, that it is hereby requested that the Southeastern Public Service
<br />Authority of Virginia defer the public hearing and action on the preliminary tipping fee
<br />schedule, from January 28, 2009, to a time no less than sixty days from such time, in
<br />order to provide the City of Portsmouth and other member jurisdictions with an
<br />opportunity to study the proposed increase in the tipping fee to be paid by six out of
<br />eight member localities for municipal solid waste services; to understand the current
<br />financial circumstances of SPSA, to negotiate with SPSA and other member
<br />jurisdictions toward equalization of tipping fees; and to develop solutions to reduce
<br />SPSA's outstanding debt and manage operational costs within its budget.
<br />
<br />BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED by the Council of the City of Portsmouth, Virginia,
<br />to oppose the increase in tipping fees for municipal solid waste set out in the approved
<br />preliminary tipping fee schedule and accordingly, the City Council hereby directs its
<br />representative on the Board of Directors, or alternate representative as the case may
<br />be, to vote against the approval of the preliminary tipping fee schedule in whole and in
<br />part, on grounds of the growing disparity of the fees charged among the member
<br />jurisdictions and the ongoing discriminatory and unfair practice of affording private
<br />waste companies much lower tipping fees than member jurisdictions are charged for the
<br />use of the same waste disposal facilities.
<br />
<br />This resolution shall be effective immediately upon its adoption."
<br />
<br />Ayes: Heretick, Psi mas, Randall, Smith, Whitehurst, Holley
<br />Nays: None
<br />
<br />Motion by Ms. Psi mas, and seconded by Mr. Whitehurst, to adopt the following
<br />resolution, and was adopted by the following vote:
<br />
<br />**ADDED RESOLUTION DEALING WITH THE PRIVATIZATION OF
<br />SOUTHEASTERN PUBLIC SERVICE AUTHORITY.
<br />
<br />"RESOLUTION CONCERNING PRIVATIZATION AND THE SOUTHEASTERN
<br />PUBLIC SERVICE AUTHORITY.
<br />
<br />WHEREAS, the Southeastern Public Service Authority ("SPSA") is a regional
<br />solid waste authority that has been serving the cities of Virginia Beach, Norfolk,
<br />Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Suffolk, and Franklin and the Counties of Isle of Wight and
<br />Southampton since approximately 1983; and
<br />
<br />WHEREAS, in recent years, due to a number of factors, SPSA has incurred an
<br />excessive amount of debt, in the approximate amount of $250,000,000; and
<br />
<br />WHEREAS, SPSA debt service now consumes approximately 40% of SPSA's
<br />revenues, and this level of debt service would normally lead to voluntary or involuntary
<br />bankruptcy for a private corporation; and
<br />
<br />WHEREAS, the fees SPSA has been charging to its six of its eight members for
<br />services, including Portsmouth, have been excessive and unreasonable, and those fees
<br />may be subject to additional and even more severe increases in the future; and
<br />
<br />WHEREAS, serious questions now exist about the continued viability and
<br />existence of SPSA; and
<br />
<br />WHEREAS, several reputable major corporations that are highly qualified in the
<br />related fields of municipal solid waste disposal, waste-to-energy conversion, renewable
<br />fuels, and recycling, including but not limited to Covanta, Wheelebrator, and Re-Energy,
<br />have expressed interest in purchasing and privatizing either some of SPSA's major
<br />capital assets or SPSA as a whole; and
<br />
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