Kootenai Raises Waste Disposal Tax Money Will Go Toward Building Transfer Station On Northern Site

Kootenai County Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to raise taxes for solid waste disposal.

The across-the-board 5 percent fee increase will apply to all waste items, from dead animals to commercial wood waste and regular household garbage.

Homeowners will see the annual fee jump from $80 to $84 on their tax bill in 1999.

The hike is expected to go toward the county’s long-range plan to build a garbage transfer station in the north end of the county. “We can ship it out of state from the north end of the county cheaper than we can haul it to our landfill site,” Commissioner Ron Rankin said.

County residents are generating more solid waste than the county is able to keep up with, Rankin said.

“I have studied the issue - analyzed it from every angle - and determined that it is absolutely necessary,” he said.

Rankin said a dispute between the county and solid waste hauler Coeur d’Alene Garbage Service also may have played a role in the increases.

County officials claim the company failed to disclose more than $100,000 in landfill fees for special pickups.

Although usually ardently opposed to raising taxes or fees, Rankin said commissioners deserve credit for not putting the issue off until after election time.

“As a matter of conscience, I am making this hard vote now,” he said, pledging to support offsetting reductions in other areas.

Increases in solid waste fees may translate to higher customer fees for garbage hauling.

Waste Management and Coeur d’Alene Garbage Service officials were unavailable for comment.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: GARBAGE FEES Kootenai County homeowners will see the annual fee jump from $80 to $84 on their tax bill in 1999.