Jefferson County is considering a nearly 30 percent increase to residents’ annual solid waste fee and plans to hold a series of public meetings before commissioners put the matter to a vote.
The current annual fee for the county’s Solid Waste Program is $149.69, and program manager Mike Myers has requested a $43.31 increase (29%), bringing the new annual fee to $193. He broke it down as $30 more per year to handle residents’ waste, plus $13 to enable the program to buy a new garbage truck, repair existing vehicles and possibly build a new garage.
The trucks haul some 350 tons of monthly waste from across the county to processing in East Helena. Largely due to the increased cost of fuel and labor, the waste program has burned through its excess funds in the last few years.
