ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

Date: November 26, 1997

Author/Local: Helmut Buhr/7994

CC File No. 3756

TO:	City Services & Budgets Committee
FROM:	Director of Finance and General Manager of Engineering Services
SUBJECT:	Establishment of 1998 Solid Waste Utility Fees

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RECOMMENDATION

A.THAT the 1998 Solid Waste Utility fees be set as per Schedule ‘B’.

B.THAT the Director of Legal Services be instructed to bring forward the necessary amendments to the Refuse By-law for approval.

MANAGER’S COMMENTS

The General Managers of Corporation Services and Engineering Services RECOMMEND approval of A and B.

COUNCIL POLICY

On October 7, 1997, Vancouver City Council approved that the Solid Waste Utility be implemented effective January 1, 1998.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this report is to recommend the establishment of the 1998 Solid Waste Utility fees.

BACKGROUND

The City has been working towards implementing user fees for residential solid waste services for several years, extending the user fee principle now applied to water consumption. User fees for these services demonstrate clearly to consumers the costs of providing the services, as well as providing the opportunity to offer incentives to rationtheir use. Implementation of the utilities would also put Vancouver on the same basis as most other North American cities, including most in the GVRD, that have had user fees for utilities for many years. On October 7, 1997, City Council approved that the Solid Waste Utility be implemented effective January 1, 1998.

DISCUSSION

The Solid Waste Utility will function in a similar manner to the City’s existing Water Utility. Solid waste costs will be removed from the general property tax levy and be replaced with fees based on consumption, or a proxy for consumption, rather than on assessed value of property. The new utility will function as a self-sustaining operation, with fees based on full cost-recovery, reviewed annually by Council.

For 1998, it is estimated that the cost to provide garbage collection services will be $100, and the cost to provide recycling services $45. The $100 garbage user fee includes costs for collection and disposal. The $45 recycling user fee includes residential blue box service, yard waste composting, leaf bag collection, GVRD recycling surcharge and miscellaneous programs such as the compost demonstration garden. These fees will be incorporated in the revised Refuse By-Law which will be before Council on December 9, 1997. Both the garbage and recycling fees will be mandatory.

Each dwelling unit that currently receives a three can allowance and blue box service will continue to receive this level of service under the solid waste utility, and pay the annual user fee for garbage collection ($100) and recycling ($45). There are about two hundred non-rowhouse strata and co-op apartments that currently receive can service, and they will be billed in a somewhat different manner. These buildings will be billed a minimum of two customer units: ie. $290 if they receive garbage collection and blue box recycling, $200 if they only receive garbage collection service ( due to operational reasons, the buildings with more than four dwelling units generally do not receive blue box service). If these buildings set out more garbage than the two customer unit limit (ie. 6 cans), they will be billed for the additional garbage collection as per Schedule ‘B’ attached.

The Solid Waste Capital Reserve will serve as a stabilization reserve for the Solid Waste Utility (SWU). Any deficits will be funded from the Solid Waste Capital Reserve, and conversely, the Reserve will receive any surpluses. It is anticipated that over time any deficits and surpluses will be offsetting.

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SCHEDULE ‘B’

RATES FOR COLLECTION/RECYCLING

I.GARBAGE CAN AND RECYCLING SERVICE

A.RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY

1.Basic Customer Unit

(a)First Basic Customer Unit, per calendar year (consisting of 3 cans, 1 blue box, 1 blue bag and 1 yellow bag per collection period) payable concurrently with each year’s real property taxes..............................................................$145.00

(consisting of $100 for collection and $45 for recycling)

(b)Each Additional Basic Customer Unit, per calendar year.................$145.00

(consisting of $100 for collection and $45 for recycling)

2.City Sticker Service

Each additional can with a city sticker affixed to the contents..................$ 1.50

3.Can Account Service (Excluding Rental Apartments) to Residential Property

additional cans of garbage collected on each collection day	fees if City provides garbage can collection but no blue box service	fees if City provides garbage can and blue box service
1 to 3 4 to 6 7 to 9 10 to 12 over 12	1 x $2.00 = $2.00 2 x $2.00 = $4.00 3 x $2.00 = $6.00 4 x $2.00 = $8.00 $2.00 for every set or partial set of 3 cans collected	1 x $2.90 = $2.90 2 x $2.90 = $5.80 3 x $2.90 = $8.70 4 x $2.90 = $11.60 $2.90 for each set or partial set of 3 cans collected

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(c) 1997 City of Vancouver