Thursday, April 17, 2008

MTAS Rep Presents Results Of Solid Waste Study

   A representative of MTAS has presented results of a recent solid waste study to members of the Lawrence County Board of Mayor and Commissioners, and has offered a number of recommendations regarding various ways of making the city’s refuse services financially self-sufficient.

   Ron Darden, Municipal Management Consultant with the University of Tennessee Municipal Technical Advisory Service, made the presentation during the commission’s April 10 business meeting.

   City leaders had requested that MTAS review “the application of solid waste rates and fees, review revenue and costs, and review the feasibility of using fully automated equipment for solid waste collection.”

   Included in the MTAS findings regarding the Lawrenceburg solid waste system were the following:

*The city collects 67.5 tons of garbage per day at a cost to the city of approximately $82.00 per ton.

*Even with implementation of recent rate increases, “Current revenues are not sufficient…to cover the cost of collecting and disposal of solid waste.”

*Some bills may need to be adjusted.

*All businesses do not pay a proper base rate for solid waste services.

*Residential customers pay 42.49% of costs while commercial customers pay 57.60% -- Residential customers use 32.54% of the services, while commercial customers use 67.46%. “It appears that residential households are paying for approximately 10% more than what they are receiving and commercial customers are receiving approximately 10% more service than they are paying for.”

*The city has a semi-automated collection system – however a fully-automated system “has the potential for significant savings.”

*The city pays $18,000 annually for billing – the city and county are billing the same customer base – both could benefit from a joint billing system

   Darden pointed out that the city has been utilizing the current semi-automated collection system for the past seven years. He recommended that, as needs arise, city leaders consider converting to a fully automated system. He stated that moving to a fully automated system “has the potential for significant savings for the city.” He explained that operating a fully automated system is cheaper, requiring less man-power. He estimates that the City of Lawrenceburg would realize an annual savings of $126,000 by converting to fully automated.

   Darden recommended that leaders consider first automating the commercial collection system. As the need arises to replace containers and trucks, he recommends that the residential system then be converted to fully automated.

   Under the current system, each of the city’s four garbage trucks is manned by two sanitation employees – a driver and a person to operate the collection system. A fully automated system, Darden said, would be operated in its entirety by the driver. Automating the system would require that four employees be relocated to different positions.

   The commission has taken the study under advisement for the time being.

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