- The video shows the community meeting at the Frazier Park Recreation Department building where residents voiced their concerns regarding a mandatory fee associated with SB 1383, mandating a three trash can system.
- Currently residents have the option to subscribe to a disposal service for $331.20 per year, the new three cart system will create a mandatory $559.80 fee for residents.
ARTICLE:
Frazier Park residents received a “Notice of Public Hearing,” informing all homeowners of Senate Bill 1383: “California’s Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Strategy.”
In response, families, retirees, and individuals all gather at the Recreation Department building to speak up about the new local trash fee increase hitting Frazier Park and neighboring communities.
Currently, residents can choose to subscribe to the mountainside disposal service for $331.20 per year, with the new mandatory three-cart system, the fee will rise to $559.80 per year.
Following the meeting, 23ABC emailed back and forth with Lisa Shreder, Assistant Director of Kern County Public Works, for more information.
Some of the following questions and answers have been slightly reworded for clarity.
23ABC: How much are Frazier Park residents currently paying for trash-related fees?
Shreder: Currently the residents in Frazier Park can voluntarily use Mountainside Disposal to collect their trash. If they subscribe to that service, it costs $27.60 per month and is paid directly to the trash hauler. Additionally, Frazier Park residential property owners (and all Kern County residential property owners) pay a Land Use Fee that is a trash-related fee that is already included on their property tax bill. The fee for Fiscal Year 2023-2024 is $170.46 per residential living unit on the parcel. That fee is the residential property’s share of the cost of managing the landfills, transfer stations, household hazardous waste collection facilities and all other components of the waste disposal system throughout Kern County.
In other words: There are two trash-related fees that a Frazier Park resident can pay.
- Collection/Transportation fee
- In Frazier Park, this fee is NOT required, it is purely optional at this point in time. That’s why I mentioned the optional fee of $27.60 per month. If they choose to use the service of a trash hauler – it’s $331.20 per year. Residents are NOT required to use the service, they can self-haul their own trash to the transfer station in Lebec – that incurs no additional fee.
- If the UCA proposal is approved – this optional fee disappears. Then the $559.80 per year goes on the tax bill and the hauler collects and transports trash from every residence in the affected area. Everyone uses the 3-cart collection system.
- Land Use Fee
- $170.46 per year – every residential parcel pays this fee regardless of the how the trash is collected/transported
23ABC: Many residents are planning on signing the protest. How many protests exactly would you need for the 50%+1?
Shreder: There are 1681 parcels affected by the proposed Frazier Park UCA. To have a successful protest, there would need to be 842 verified protests received. Protests can be submitted in a variety of ways:
1. A written letter
2. A petition which may include multiple parcels with multiple owners
3. A signature on the mailer that was sent to the property owners (there’s an X with a line beside it on the mailer).
23ABC: Where does the property tax money go? Where is the new proposal tax property money going towards?
Shreder: The $559.80 annual charge is a property-related fee. Of the $559.80 that is proposed, $12.00 goes to the County to handle all the administrative costs of the franchise agreements with the hauler including billing. The remaining amount is paid by the County to the hauler on a monthly basis. This amount covers the cost of the transportation and collection of the proposed 3 cart system and there is also a monthly curbside bulky waste pickup component included. All the equipment associated with this work is provided by the trash hauler – including the cost of the 3 carts. Additionally, the hauler is entirely responsible for handling all recyclables deposited in the blue cart. Currently the recycling market is depressed – and recyclables overall are a cost, as opposed to a revenue stream. The hauler is also required to handle all the associated components of SB 1383 including route reviews, container contamination monitoring and follow-up, education and outreach programs, special programs for multi-family dwellings and all the extensive recordkeeping.
23ABC: For residents with disabilities, veteran status, low-income, retired, etc., how does SB 1383 accommodate said individuals?
Shreder: There are not any waivers for disadvantaged communities or customers in the regulations. Since the County includes the fee on the property tax roll, the charge is consistent across all residential parcels. For residents with disabilities that cannot push their trash carts to/from the pickup location, the hauler is required to offer walk-up service for no additional fee if the property owner provides a medical certificate from a medical facility.
23ABC: How does SB 1383 accommodate residents with inaccessible driveways?
Shreder: The trash hauler will confer with the property owner to designate an appropriate pick-up location.
23ABC: Many residents are concerned about bears and wildlife having access to their trash- what protocols are put in place to prevent wildlife-related issues? How would that affect the cost?
Shreder: The County has obtained an elevation waiver for the Frazier Park Census Tract. Therefore, food waste is not required to be deposited in the organic cart. Bear proof carts are available to property owners for an additional charge of $6.00 per month which is directly payable to the trash hauler.
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