Looking to find an increased revenue stream, the San Benito
County Board of Supervisors has agreed to remove its self-imposed
cap on the amount of waste the landfill run by Waste Connections
Inc. on John Smith Road can bring in per day.
Looking to find an increased revenue stream, the San Benito County Board of Supervisors has agreed to remove its self-imposed cap on the amount of waste the landfill run by Waste Connections Inc. on John Smith Road can bring in per day.
The change will become effective in September. A cap of 250 tons per day and 90,250 tons per year was agreed to on Dec. 6, 2005, but in efforts to search for more money to help balance future budgets, the board hopes the removal will see a higher cash flow to the county.
It should do just that, said Mandy Rose of the county’s Integrated Waste Management Department.
The removal will align the local limit with the state limit of 500 tons per day until a new agreement is made between the county and Waste Connections, Inc.
The county receives 20 percent of all revenue at the landfill, but the cap removal is the beginning of new negotiations with the plant.
During the meeting Tuesday where the item was formally approved, Supervisor Jaime De La Cruz suggested an increase of dollars per tonnage.
“Right now we’ll get around $100,000 a year but I want half a million or even a million,” De La Cruz said.
If the contract remains the same, the county could bring in almost $40,000 every quarter, according to the staff report presented to the board.
Earlier in the month, during the budget hearings, Supervisor Reb Monaco appointed Supervisors Anthony Botelho and Pat Loe to work with the landfill in trying to increase revenue because of possible elimination of the library.
To increase revenue and tonnage, the county had to follow a set of rules officials laid out when they first agreed to a contract with the landfill.
The stipulations include:
– Not comprising the landfill capacity for the community
– That it doesn’t create environmental or transportation concerns
– And that it produces revenue to the county’s general fund
Negations for a contract extension with the landfill will be brought back to the board by the end of the year.
