Lane County officials are facing the prospect of making cuts and raising fees at the county’s network of 15 transfer stations, where rural residents take their trash.
Lane County’s 15 transfer stations offer an alternative for residents who would otherwise rely on a commercial trash hauler or would have to take garbage themselves to the county’s Short Mountain Landfill. But the system is now facing a $3 million budget gap for the fiscal year. To make up the difference, county commissioners are weighing options that include a combination of fee increases and shuttering select transfer stations.
Here’s how we got here: The $3 million operating deficit is in the county’s Waste Management Division, a fund that primarily relies upon fees from users. Tax revenues do not pay for waste services…