County Hears RaeKar Proposal for Solid Waste Department

The Wayne County Solid Waste Committee and Budget Committee held a joint meeting on Thursday, June 26, at 6:00 p.m., prior to the full commission meeting at 7:00 p.m. The purpose of the joint committee meeting was to hear a presentation from RaeKar, Inc. regarding the county-owned solid waste facility.

The deficit caused in the county budget by the Solid Waste Department has been a topic of discussion for many months, with no decisions being made by the County Commission on how to solve the problem. A solid waste reorganization resolution was presented a few months ago that would bring in more revenue to the county by charging a tipping fee of five cents per pound for all municipal solid waste unloaded at the transfer station in excess of three 40-gallon bags per day. The tipping fee would obviously affect RaeKar the most, as they are the commercial hauler contracted with the cities of Waynesboro, Collinwood, and Clifton to haul all city residential and commercial garbage.

Tommy Legins of RaeKar presented the company’s proposal to the committees on Thursday. The RaeKar proposal is not to purchase or lease the transfer station or solid waste operations, but to run the operation as part of a commercial franchise. Most of the items in the proposal that have to do with money and funding would have to be explained and discussed at a much greater length than they were on Thursday for the committees and commission to gain a full understanding, but the bottom line, according to RaeKar, is that their proposal would bring the county into compliance with all Tennessee codes pertaining to solid waste while saving money and avoiding a huge property tax increase for citizens.

One of the main components of the proposal is the elimination of mobile convenience centers. Mr. Legins explained that the goal should be to make solid waste disposal come at a fair and reasonable cost to ALL county citizens. The current setup of free residential disposal at the convenience centers and low- or no-cost residential dumping at the transfer station poses what many see as unfair when compared with city residents who are mandated to pay for garbage pickup even if they don’t need or use it.

Committee members pointed out and agreed that most county citizens will not be in favor of the elimination of convenience centers, especially certain ones located several miles from the transfer station. Commissioner Alvin Creecy and others also pointed out that the proposal contains elements that the county could implement themselves to save money, so what would be the benefit of allowing RaeKar to run the operation?

As the time for the full commission meeting drew near, the joint Solid Waste/Budget Committee voted to move forward with exploring options of a combined county-run/privatized solid waste facility. This was the action recommended to the full commission by the committees. The motion did not include specifically the RaeKar proposal, but it was understood that the RaeKar proposal would be considered along with other entities who are interested.

The full County Commission meeting was more brief than usual due to the short agenda and the committee meeting running over in time. Budget amendments were approved in the Sheriff’s Office, Highway Department, and schools.

Lastly was the recommendation from the Solid Waste/Budget Committee. Commissioner Sherrie Powers made a motion to approve the recommendation of the committees to move forward with exploring the idea of a proposed county-run/privatized solid waste facility. Commissioner Shull seconded, and the motion passed on roll call vote with only Commissioners Rickey Kelley and Alvin Creecy voting no.

The commission seemed to agree that this vote was at least a way of moving forward with the solid waste situation. However, no final decisions have yet been made about the solid waste budget deficit or how it will impact property tax rates.