Supervisor: Landfill fees aren't high enough

NORWICH – Town of Preston Supervisor Peter C. Flanagan was adamant again last week about the need to raise user fees at the county’s landfills.

The Democrat and his fellow party members on the Public Works Committee have made motions each year since 2004 to raise the $55 per ton and $1.25 per bag fees. The motions have been killed by the full Chenango County Board of Supervisors, however.

Longtime committee Chairman Harry W. Conley and others opposed to raising fees say higher prices would drive customers away. The current fee, which has remained steady for 12 years, is lower than the original $70 a ton set 14 years ago.

At a meeting of the committee Thursday, Flanagan said, “I want to point out that we are not making ends meet. We keep charging the levy for digging holes. As long as we don’t raise the fees, we will always be going back to the levy.”

Flanagan’s ire was prompted during a discussion of Cell 3 development at the Pharsalia Solid Waste Landfill - scheduled to begin next year - as well as a survey of tipping fees charged in neighboring counties. Supervisor James B. Bays, D-Smyrna, had requested the comparison report last fall.