Sunflower County supervisors on Monday once again found themselves talking trash as they continue to wrestle with collecting rural garbage collection fees.
Currently about 2,150 rural residents are charged $18 a month for rural garbage collection service but the county faces a lag in collecting the fees. Currently, garbage collection fees are about $500,000 in arrears and involve some 698 rural customers.
This trend is growing since the supervisors ended the policy to collect back garbage fees by withholding vehicle tags to customers with overdue bills. Now it must use the more costly and time-consuming method of carrying them to court to force payment.
Chancery Clerk Gloria McIntosh told The E-T that the number of delinquent accounts and the total owed is misleading at first glance because most of it represents unpaid bills of customers who have relocated without notifying the county. There is an ongoing effort to collect these bills and headway is being made. She also said that the county takes the matter to court only as a last resort after contacting past-due customers in writing or by telephone calls fail.
During Monday’s discussion, which led to no action by the supervisors, Board Attorney Johnny McWilliams told the board that one method it could adopt would be to levy additional property tax to support the service. Not only would this insure payment, but it would also end the need to send out monthly bills. He warned, however, there may be a cap on the tax rate allowed for this purpose. Also, municipalities would be exempt, since they operate their own trash service, further limiting potential income.
The subject arose Monday when District 5 Supervisor Gloria Dickerson asked whether a resident in her district who claims not to use the county garbage service is still required to pay. She said the resident told her that he has never used the trash service and never plans to use it.
McWilliams said the county trash collection ordinance declares every residence in the county as a source of garbage, which means residents must pay even if they don’t use the service. He said, however, the county could exempt certain classes of customers, such as those over 65 or handicapped. No exemption of an individual is presently allowed.
There has been an ongoing rumble of complaints about county garbage service that the board inherited when it took over rural garbage collection from private contractors in late 2021.
The county assumed the chore after what became almost an outright rebellion among rural customers who refused to pay their bill due to poor service by private contractors.
The county faces its own problems caused by poor labor retention and equipment breakdowns and supervisors find themselves dealing with garbage collection problems at most meetings.
Supervisors on Monday also considered the ongoing question of locating a store in Eastmoor Subdivision just east of Moorhead. District 1 Supervisor Glenn Donald, whose district includes Eastmoor, again brought up the county’s responsibility in the issue.
Donald had been approached recently about what permits were needed to build a store on an empty lot formerly occupied by a small community center.
McWilliams repeated what he said during a meeting last month that there is a clause in the Eastmoor land deeds that allows only residences there. Only a vote by a majority of the deedholders there can override the prohibition.
Otherwise, McWilliams said, the county has no zoning ordinance, which makes the issue a civil issue involving the landowners there. The county does have building codes, though, which would require a permit before construction can proceed.
Although the supervisors cannot enforce the clause prohibiting a store there, it does have a say in the matter if it ever arose. The county owns a lot in Eastmoor used as a park, which means the board has one vote in the decision to allow the change.
