UPDATE: Beaufort County is proposing a yearly fee to use area trash dumps. How much?
Update: Beaufort County Council voted 10-1 to approve the proposed solid waste fee on first reading Monday night. The exact fee amount has not been determined. Some council members said they voted to move the item to second reading so they could determine the fee’s impact on residents’ tax bills and whether it would put some property owners at a disadvantage. Council member Gerald Dawson voted against the proposed fee on first reading. The council’s next full meeting is scheduled for April 12.
Beaufort County property owners will likely soon be required to pay a yearly fee to drop off their trash and recycling at one of the county’s convenience centers.
The fee amount, which the County Council is still determining, will replace what property owners pay in taxes for solid waste.
The county’s public facilities committee considered the proposed fee Monday afternoon as part of a growing list of sweeping changes related to the area’s trash dumps in an attempt to curtail illegal dumping and cut costs. A solid waste study presented to council last year found that the 25-year-old convenience centers are too expensive to operate and lead to traffic, environmental and safety problems.
Beaufort County plans to require decals — a physical sticker on car windshields or an electronic version accessible by smartphone — at all dumps on April 1 after a four-month educational period. The county implemented the decal system about the same time it reduced hours at all centers in October and closed the Pritchardville and Gate trash dumps in Bluffton and Beaufort in January.
The changes to the centers also come as the future use of the trash dump on Hilton Head Island appears to be in doubt.
On Monday, the county’s public facilities committee decided not to sign an agreement with Hilton Head to work with the town on a $500,000 road construction project that would improve access to Hilton Head’s convenience center.
The agreement, according to Assistant County Administrator Jared Fralix, included a stipulation that the county would operate the Hilton Head convenience center on Summit Drive for 20 years.
Called Tuesday, County Special Projects Director David Wilhelm said the county would not commit to a 20-year agreement because the future use of the site is unclear.
In a Feb. 9 letter to Hilton Head Island Deputy Town Manager Josh Gruber, interim County Administrator Eric Greenway wrote that the county planned to sign an agreement with Hilton Head “regarding the County’s long-term commitment to operate” the center.
A plan to close the Hilton Head center was previously on the table last year, but county officials balked. Now, county staff plans to negotiate with Hilton Head on the future use of the center.
Those negotiations are among several issues between the town of Hilton Head and Beaufort County. The two political entities are already involved in a legal battle over a police service fee on Hilton Head residents.
Wilhelm said he hopes Hilton Head will create a curbside pickup system. Council member Brian Flewelling said the site could be used as a solid waste transfer station, but said it would take at least five years to implement any major changes.
Hilton Head Island Town Manager Marc Orlando and Assistant Town Manager Josh Gruber did not return calls for comment Tuesday.
Solid waste fee
Last year, Beaufort County established a solid waste and recycling enterprise fund and tasked consulting firm TischlerBise Inc. with studying how much money property owners should pay for trash and recycling services.
The yearly service fee, which officials will determine in future meetings, would replace the amount of money citizens typically pay in property taxes.
The fee, according to a presentation at the county’s public facilities committee meeting Monday, would pay for personnel and operating costs at the trash dumps and would allow the solid waste and recycling enterprise fund to be self-sufficient.
The enterprise fund creates a separate department that’s fully allocated to issues like recycling, trash and environmental concerns, according to Wilhelm.
The proposed fee would be paid annually by residential property owners throughout the county.
On Monday, the committee discussed a countywide $169 annual fee. That fee, according to the presentation, would generate more than $16 million in revenue from more than 90,000 homes each year.
But, Wilhelm said, council tasked county staff with calculating how the blanket fee would compare to the amount of money each property owner pays in taxes. Council member Brian Flewelling said he was worried the fee would put owners of smaller homes at a disadvantage.
County staff, at the direction of the committee, is also determining whether commercial property owners could opt into the fee.
The next full County Council meeting is scheduled for Monday. Wilhelm said the fee will likely be discussed then.
Decal system
The county’s decal system will officially be enforced starting April 1.
Attendants will be scanning the decals, and vehicles should be prepared to stop when entering the centers, according to a news release about the system.
As of last week, over 40,000 decals have been sent to Beaufort County property owners, according to Solid Waste and Recycling Director Cindy Carter.
Property owners will be allowed to visit the convenience centers no more than three times a week, according to the new system.
To receive a decal, property owners had to either apply online on the county’s website, or fill out an application in person at one of the centers.
According to the news release, if you have applied for a decal and not heard back, there may be an issue with your application. The county asks those property owners to send a help request at beaufortcountysc.gov/solid-waste-and-recycle/convenience-centers/decal-service-request.html.
This story was originally published March 17, 2021 at 4:35 AM.
