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JACKSON – Northampton County Public Works Director Becky Turner presented a proposal to increase the solid waste pickup fee during the Board of Commissioners’ meeting on June 27.

“The revenue from this year fell short of the fees received from the citizens,” explained Turner.

According to information provided to the commissioners, the revenue generated in FY24 for solid waste pickup fees equaled $2,153,723.98. But the county was billed $2,330,862.48 for the pickup, leaving a deficit of $177,138.50.

“We’ve not increased our fee for solid waste pickup while the companies that do the solid waste pickup have continued to increase each year,” she said. “And they use the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to set their rate, which increases anywhere from 1.5 to 7 percent each year.”

Currently, over 10,000 parcels throughout Northampton County are billed for solid waste pickup at a yearly rate of $210.86. Turner stated that breaks down to about $17.57 per month.

Her proposal was to increase that monthly rate by $2.43, bringing it to $20 per month ($240 per year). Turner said she based that increase on an estimate of what the CPI increase would be, and that it should eliminate the shortfall for the next fiscal year.

After the presentation, Commissioner Kelvin Edwards suggested they table the decision until the July 15 meeting, so they would have time to spread the word about the proposal before the decision was made. He cited earlier discussions during the meeting where citizens complained about a lack of information on things happening in the county.

The board unanimously agreed to include the proposal on their July 15 agenda.