Trash District Adopts New Fee Despite Threats Of Litigation

The board also extended by one year its deadline of Jan. 1, 2003, when members are required to implement pay-as-you-go programs. Members will lose access to recycling grants administered by the district if they fail to comply, and private trash-hauling companies can lose their licenses to haul trash in the district if they do not offer this service.

Board representatives from Bentonville, Rogers, Centerton and Siloam Springs voted against the new fee structure, which eliminates the current $1.50 per ton fee assessed on waste dumped in the Tontitown landfill and adds the same fee for all trash generated in the district. Eight board members supported the new fee.

About one-third of the district's trash is being disposed of outside the district. The additional revenue generated will fund a new enforcement officer. The district director, Steven Parker, estimated the new fee would increase the annual cost of disposal by about $1.23 per capita in cities such as Bentonville and Siloam Springs, which have not paid the old fee.

Bentonville officials said in earlier interviews that the city may decide not to pay its annual district membership dues because of the fee change. Mayor Terry Coberly could not be reached for comment after Thursday's meeting. Parker furnished board members a letter from Camille Steadman Thompson, Bentonville staff attorney, who questioned the legality of the fees and threatened litigation.

Thompson asked whether the fee is actually a tax that must be approved by local voters.

"The distinction between a tax and a fee is that a government imposes a tax for general-revenue purposes, but a fee is imposed in the government's exercise of its police powers. ... I am sure you are aware of the danger of litigation arising after the enactment of such a fee," she wrote in a letter to Parker. "It is Bentonville's hope that the district will thoroughly review this issue prior to the adoption of any proposed fees so as to reduce the likelihood of a future citizen lawsuit for monetary damages involving the district and/or governmental entities which compose it."

Mark Latham, Siloam Springs city administrator, said that city officials believe that the new fee is not equitable, because Siloam Springs helps other members by saving landfill space at Tontitown. He suggested instead increasing the annual, per-capita assessment on members.

On the pay-as-you-throw issue, Rogers Mayor Steve Womack said that it frustrates him that his city is on the list of those who have not implemented this system. The purpose of the policy is to reduce the volume of trash going into landfills, which he said is being accomplished through Rogers' successful recycling program. - The Morning News/NWAonline.net