Douglas trash fees to go up

MINDEN - Residents in Douglas County who use the trash collection system will be paying more for curbside pickup.

Douglas County commissioners approved an 8.73 percent rate hike for Douglas Disposal Inc., which provides trash pickup for much of the county.

"There were no protests on the rate hike, and it was certainly not what the board was anxious to do," Commissioner Bernie Curtis said, "but certainly within what the company has a right to ask for."

In addition, the commission agreed to keep some recycling measures in place for county residents.

The commission voted unanimously to give hikes of 6.43 percent to Douglas Disposal for curbside, and 2.3 percent to pay for a recently approved lease for a refuse transfer station. Douglas County is leasing land from Douglas Disposal to build the station, but will lease the facility back to Douglas Disposal for $50,000 a year.

The rate increase means customers will pay $15.25 a month for a 90-gallon container, $12.90 for a 40- to 45-gallon can, and $8.55 for one small can. Rates also vary depending on the number of cans per household.

Commercial customers would pay $3.15 for a 30- to 32-gallon can, $17.98 for a two-yard container and $150.05 for a six-yard drop box, with higher rates for larger containers.

"We've not had a raise for years and years," Curtis said.

The commission organized a rate committee which suggested that such a request was warranted.

County leaders agreed to spend $5,000 to keep a drop-off container at Scarselli Elementary School in the Gardnerville Ranchos and a recycling truck that services areas throughout the county.

Maintaining the Scarselli bin is estimated at $2,000 for the rest of the fiscal year, which ends in June 2000. The truck program is expected to cost $3,000 for the same period.

"We adjusted some things that we thought we needed to work on, and cut out some things that weren't paying for themselves," Curtis said.

The commission said there was no protest for the increase. The rate committee members did make some comment, but it was favoring the increase.

"If there's a better idea, we're still willing to hear it," he said of the recycling efforts.