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Council looks for ways to pass on tipping fee
HARTINGTON – The Hartington City Council spent much of Monday's meeting kicking around ideas on how to handle a tipping fee increase at the Jackson landfill.
The facility announced late last year that rate increases would go into effect in 2025. Based on current usage, that increase would most likely amount to a $2,600 annual increase, said City Clerk Brittni Benscoter.
Mayor Mark Becker said the city's garbage rates are at a rate where the city is no longer in the red with the service and he'd like to make sure they don't go backwards.
'Our garbage rates are finally up to where we aren’t losing money on garbage or the transfer station,' said Mayor Becker.
The Council discussed the possibility of raising local and commercial rates again, but hoped another solution could be found.
Becker said one area they could look at are the fees at the transfer station. Currently, Hartington residents and non-residents are all charged the same rate to use the transfer station.
Becker said since city residents had to foot the cost for building the facility and maintaining it, he feels they shouldn't have to pay as much as non-residents to use the facility, especially since so many non-residents use it.
In 2024, city residents used the facility 1,185 times, while non-residents used the facility 1,069 times.
Currently, everyone is charged a straight $10.50 fee for the first 300 pounds of refuse dumped at the site. An additional $3.50 is added for every 100 pounds over that.
The transfer station collected $78,458 in fees from city residents in 2024 and $41,068 in fees from non-residents.
The Council agreed non-residents should be charged a higher fee. They are considering upping the fee to non-residents to a rate 50 percent higher than local residents.
‘’Maybe this is something that will open a conversation and we might be able to talk with the county or some of these towns about working with us,' Councilman Cody Christensen said.
Council members felt by raising the non-resident rate, they would not have to raise the in-town garbage collection rate this year.
Also Monday, the Council agreed to enter into an agreement with Hartington Auto and Truck Parts for a 15-year $50,000 revolving loan at zero percent interest.
Mayor Becker said Hartington Auto and Truck Parts recently purchased the former VFW building on Highway 57 and plan to update the facilty and then move their business into it.
'That will be nice for the community to have that property cleaned up and improved,' he said.
