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HomeMy WebLinkAbout8.2 Exemption From Mandatory Garbage Svc CITY OF DUBLIN AGENDA STATEMENT CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: July 13, 1992 SUBJECT: Status Report on Applications for Exemption from Mandatory Garbage Service (Prepared by: Bo Barker, Management Assistant) EXHIBITS ATTACHED: Excerpt Ordinance 2-92, Section 5.32.111, Relating' to Mandatory Garbage Service Exemptions. V RECOMMENDATION: , Review Options and provide Direction FINANCIAL STATEMENT: If exemptions are not granted residents may be required to subscribe to a minimum level of service. DESCRIPTION: The City recently passed an ordinance instituting a Mandatory Garbage Service Program for all households in the City of Dublin. Since the beginning of the program, March 16, 1992 , 38 individual residents applied for an exemption from garbage service. Livermore Dublin Disposal suspended service and billing for any customer with an application for exemption which is pending. An aspect of the Mandatory Garbage Service provides for the exemption process. A resident completes an "Application for Exemption" and submits it to the City Manager's Office. An on-site inspection of the property is conducted to verify the information received on the application for exemption. The City Manager will then make a determination to approve or deny the application. If the application is denied the resident has the right to appeal to the City Council. This status report is an interim step because this is the first time the City has used this process. The report describes the mandatory program, reason for the law's initiation and identifies the types of pending exemption requests received. Reasons For Mandatory Garbage Service At the time the Ordinance was enacted several reasons were cited for imposing this requirement. The following are the significant factors: * The cost of the service is economical since the minimum cost of disposing waste on a weekly basis, at the closest licensed facility, would cost over $34 per month. * Protection of the entire community's health, safety, and welfare suggest the regular weekly service needs to be provided. * State Law requires that the City exert greater control and document the type and amount of garbage generated in the City. The current law requires the City to track waste by generator type (i.e. residential vs. commercial vs. industrial) . * State Law requires that by the year 2000, the City must reduce the amount of garbage placed in the landfill by 50%. One step toward this requirement is the curbside recycling program which is included as part of the base level of service. All residents benefit from the availability of increased landfill space and therefore it is appropriate to encourage residents to participate in the recycling program. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- COPIES TO: Dan Borges, LDD General Manager ITEM NO. CITY CLERK FILE 6 a •2 * The assurance that garbage service is provided regularly to all residents should reduce the frequency of illegal dumping in commercial dumpsters at a cost to the business. Eliminates illegal participation in the special pick up program by individuals who. are not customers and assures that all residents contribute towards the cost of this service. * The provision of Mandatory garbage service is identified as a program in the adopted Source Reduction and Recycling Element (SRRE) , as required by AB 939. Rate/Service Adjustments Implemented in Conjunction with Mandatory Service At the same time as the City Council approved the Mandatory Ordinance a new class of service was also initiated. This class of service provides for a 20 gallon container, curbside recycling, and the four special Saturday pick-ups for $6. 65 per month. This assures that the cost of the recycling program and special pick-ups are spread among all rater payers. This low monthly rate also addresses small quantity generators. It should be noted that with the special Saturday Clean-ups it is difficult for Livermore Dublin Disposal to easily identify non- subscribers who benefit from the service. The Company uses staff from all of its divisions in order to conduct the clean up. In addition, non-subscribers can easily place garbage with a subscriber. Having all occupied households as subscribers will spread the cost among all potential participants. Summary of Total Residents Not Currently Subscribing There was a total of 308 residents which had not begun service as of the start of the mandatory program. Since the Mandatory Garbage Service Program began, the 308 residents were handled as follows: 38 Applied for an exemption 123 Subsequently signed up or paid for service. Some of these individuals presumably had similar situations, however, they elected to subscribe for service rather than pursue an exemption. 147 Are currently delinquent since no request for exemption has been filed and service is being offered. Property owners were identified through the County Assessor records and Livermore Dublin Disposal sent further notices to owners.- Follow up work is continuing to determine those who continue to be delinquent. The following is a breakdown of property owner information. All of the resident owners should be aware of the requirements since all prior notices were mailed to the property address. 72 - Non resident Owners 75 - Resident Owners These numbers indicate there is a small minority of residents who continue to be delinquent. Summary of Exemption Applications The applications for exemption have been reviewed and individual on site property inspections are complete. Of the 38 applications two (2) have been closed out due to a sale of the property and new tenants have initiated service. Four (4) other applications have been approved because the property is vacant. The remaining 32 applications for exemption cite a variety of reasons why they should be exempted from service. Staff was able to break the applications for exemption into four (4) general categories. # of Applicants 15 The individual has the ability to take their waste to their place of business or work location. 9 of the 14 own the business (5 of the 9 are Dublin business owners) , 4 of the 14 own a landscaping business, and 2 of the 14 work for a company which allows them to dispose of their garbage at work. 9 A friend or relative picks up the waste for them. 5 Indicate they are employees of the garbage company and they take their waste to work. Three of the five individuals work for Livermore Dublin Disposal who have a company policy that employees must subscribe to the mandatory garbage service. 3 State they take it to the dump themselves. As noted above a majority of the applications for exemption stem from the individual having a business where they can dispose of their solid waste. Some of the more specific reasons individuals have requested exemption are: 1. They are on a fixed income and can't afford the service. 2 . They recycle, compost and have very little solid waste. 3 . They recycle and have a relative pick up their garbage. 4 . They work for an out of the area garbage company and take it to work. 5. They produce small quantities of solid waste and share the cost of the service with friends. Other applications use one or a combination of the reasons listed above as reasons why they should be exempted. Recommendation According to the ordinance, exemptions may be granted only if the owner can demonstrate that no solid waste is produced or accumulated on the property (Exhibit 1) . As the ordinance is currently written, these 32 individuals would presumably be denied an exemption since they acknowledged they produce waste. Staff has presented this information in order to allow the City Council an opportunity to review its policy on "exemption from garbage service. " Some of the specific circumstances may not have been anticipated when the ordinance and exemption process were originally developed. Staff recommends the City Council review the information and provide additional direction. Exemption applicants will receive the appropriate notices after the City Council has the opportunity to consider the relevant issues. r. 3 . Section 5 . 32 . 111 Failure to T.niti.ate Service By March 16, 1992 , for dwelling units occupied on or before March 1 , 1992, and within fifteen ( 15 ) days of occupancy for residences occupied thereafter, the Owner shall begin solid waste collection service or establish that the occupant is entitled to an exemption. The Director shall be authorized to grant such an exemption in accordance with administrative procedures developed for this purpose and as approved by Resolution of the City Council. At a minimum said procedures shall require that the Owner demonstrate that no solid waste is produced or accumulated in, upon, or from such property. The Owner may be required to 4 . Section 5 . 32 . 112 Complaint of Non-Payment Upon the expiration of not less than thirty (30 ) days following the time at which an account becomes delinquent as defined in Section 5 . 32 . 110 and the Collector has rendered service and has presented either the Owner or Tenant with a bill for such service, and if the bill has not been paid in full, the Collector shall send to the Customer final written request for payment. This final written request shall include a warning notice that if the service charges are not paid within thirty ( 30 ) days, additional steps may be taken to collect the amount owed. The notice shall include information with respect to the possibility of the City recording a lien against the property that the service was rendered, in the event that the City is required to pay the charges . The form and content of the warning notice sent by the Collector shall be approved by the Director. In addition, the Collector shall cause said thirty ( 30) day written notice to be mailed to each Owner. The Collector shall request from the Director, information identifying the Owner to whom such described property is assessed in the last equalized assessment roll available . The Collector shall then notify the Owner of the non-payment of service charges and the possibility of the City recording a lien as provided in Section 5 . 32 . 115 . The format of said warning notice shall be approved by the Director. The Collector shall maintain and provide the Director with evidence of mailing said notice to the Owner. EAST