Explanation
1. BACKGROUND
This legislation authorizes the Director of Public Service to establish an encumbrance within the Special Income Tax Fund to pay 2020 waste disposal tipping fees for the Division of Refuse Collection and to expend funds to pay the tipping fees. This expense is necessary to safely and contractually dispose of the waste collected by the division in the course of pursuing its mission by providing residential refuse collection services to over 320,000 households weekly, picking up bulk items and illegally dumped items as needed, and to provide radiation remediation services to process quarantined loads at SWACO tipping sites.
The Department of Public Service has determined that $17,128,000.00 should be adequate for this purpose. This number is based upon an estimated waste stream of 319,000 tons in 2020. Actual tonnage is ultimately dependent on variables such as the weather, the actual number of households collected that cannot be specifically calculated at this time, and the unknown amount of bulk and illegally dumped items. If necessary, additional legislation will be submitted to increase funds at a later date.
Previous calendar years' actual tipping fee expenditures totaled $16,656,304.00 (2017), $16,763,000.00 (2018), and $16,767,000.00 in 2019. SWACO tipping fee rates are determined by SWACO's established rate setting process. Due to an existing contractual relationship where the City of Columbus participates in the rate setting process, the City is required to use SWACO waste disposal services. The vendors and waste disposal fees for tire disposal services, construction/demolition material disposal services, and radiation remediation services will be determined through the city's competitive bidding process.
2. FISCAL IMPACT
This 2020 expense is budgeted within the Special Income Tax Fund and is part of Ordinance 2927-2019 tabled by Council on 11/18/2019. This ordinance is contingent upon passage of the 2020 operating...
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