SLO County board opts to leave IWMA. Here’s what that means for your garbage bills
San Luis Obispo County will leave the countywide waste management organization that oversees solid waste disposal and compliance with state regulations — a move that could increase garbage bills for some customers.
The county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted 3-2 to withdraw from the Integrated Waste Management Authority (IWMA), an agency that operates through a joint powers agreement with the county, its seven cities and unincorporated communities. Supervisors Bruce Gibson and Dawn Ortiz-Legg cast the two dissenting votes.
The IWMA manages solid waste disposal, especially recycling and green and hazardous waste. The agency also makes sure all cities and communities comply with increasingly complex state recycling and waste disposal laws.
The IWMA has been rife with controversy in recent years. The county District Attorney’s Office began investigating the agency for fraud in 2018, after private investigator Carl Knudson compiled a report on potential corruption within the IWMA.
After the investigation began, the IWMA placed Bill Worrell, the organization’s longtime manager, on administrative leave until his retirement. Last week, the county District Attorney’s Office filed embezzlement charges against Carolyn Goodrich, a former board secretary who left the IWMA in early 2019.
In June, the IWMA’s director announced his resignation from the organization following a protracted battle over a ban on polystyrene, commonly known by the brand name Styrofoam.
Soon after the IWMA board moved forward with the polystyrene ban — which it accomplished by using a supermajority of members to override the votes of several county supervisors — the county board authorized a $32,000 study to examine the implications of leaving the organization.
New county waste management duties
Cities, community services districts (CSDs) and the county contract with waste haulers to pick up trash, recycling and green waste. The county takes care of this for residents who don’t live in cities or areas with CSDs.
Some CSDs haven’t activated their solid waste authority, and the county also oversees trash collection in those areas.
Overall, the county manages waste collection for more than 25% of the county’s population — 69,101 people. Los Osos, which is home to 16,533 people, is the biggest CSD that doesn’t currently manage its own waste.
MSW Consultants’ study found the county now must assume a significant amount of waste management responsibility that it previously delegated to the IWMA, from hazardous waste collection to recycling education and outreach.
In addition, the state will begin enforcing a new organic waste law next year that requires significant reductions in methane emissions and edible food waste.
It’s the “largest waste legislation in almost 30 years,” and the county will now be responsible for implementing it, on top of the new responsibilities it’s taking over from the IWMA, a county staff report said.
The county will likely need to hire five additional staff members to handle this new workload, the study said.
How much will leaving the IWMA cost customers?
Overall, the county will need an additional $1.6 million to $2.1 million to cover the costs of taking on the IWMA’s duties.
The IWMA is funded by a combination of waste hauler fees that are charged to customers and landfill fees paid on a per-ton basis. There are three groups of customers who pay the waste hauler fees: residential and commercial ratepayers, as well as people who rent roll-off dumpsters.
Residential customers pay about 42% of fees, commercial customers pay about 35% and roll-off customers pay 23%, according to the study.
The study suggested the best-case scenario would involve the county negotiating with the IWMA to obtain its share of fees. This would mean the county would need to raise less money, and rate increases wouldn’t be as high.
The worst-case scenario would require the county to raise the full $2.1 million, meaning ratepayers’ bills would increase more.
On the high end, residential customers in unincorporated areas where CSDs don’t oversee waste management could see their garbage bills go up by about 12%, or $4.63 per month for typical ratepayers, the study said.
On the low end, residential customers could see their bills go up by 9.7%, or $3.71 per month.
However, the county has not yet investigated all potential ways to reduce costs, said John Diodati, Public Works director. The rate increases shown in the study are high-level estimates, and the county will work to reduce potential rate hikes, Diodati said.
Cities are also concerned about the county’s withdrawal from the IWMA, which they fear will result in higher bills for their residents due to the loss of one of the organization’s biggest customers.
Matt Thompson, Paso Robles wastewater resource manager, spoke at the meeting on behalf of the city. He urged the county to stay in the IWMA, citing potential impacts to other members of the agency.
“The MSW study results have confirmed that county and/or city of Paso Robles withdrawal from the IWMA would greatly increase costs and would not be in the best interest of solid waste ratepayers,” Thompson said.
Why do supervisors want to leave the IWMA?
Supervisors Debbie Arnold, Lynn Compton and John Peschong all cited potential corruption in the agency and frustration over the power it wields as reasons for withdrawing from the IWMA.
The supervisors feel their votes are diluted by city leaders who don’t represent the interests of people in their districts, and they dislike the rule-making role the IWMA has taken on, especially regarding the use of materials like polystyrene.
Arnold characterized the IWMA as a “middle man with the authority to write violations.”
“They’re doubling down on this,” Arnold said. “They’re going into a full-blown, regulatory agency. The ordinances that are being passed now come with jail time for violations, and heavy-duty fees and fines. I feel like we’re giving our responsibility away and not paying any attention to it by allowing these things to happen.”
Peschong said the Aug. 3 charges filed against the former board secretary “were really, to me, a wake-up call of what we’re dealing with” in terms of corruption in the organization. He also cited his disapproval of the polystyrene ban and other similar IWMA policies.
“At the end of the day, the styrofoam ban does cost — as well as the plastic bag ban, as well as the straw ban — it does cost our small businesses money,” Peschong said. “Not a lot of money — they’re not going to go bankrupt over it. They will adapt ... but to me, I can’t vote for something that violates my pact with the small businesses in my community.”
However, IWMA leaders are receptive to negotiating with supervisors to change aspects of the organization they don’t like. Rebecca Campbell, assistant county administrative officer, told the board the organization is willing to reconsider the polystyrene ban and its supermajority powers. It also could narrow the scope of its regulatory abilities.
Ortiz-Legg and Gibson both expressed a desire to stick with the organization and reform potential issues. But they were outvoted by Peschong, Arnold and Compton, who believe the organization is past fixing.
“Ultimately, each of us are responsible for what the garbage is,” Ortiz-Legg said. “No matter what happens — we go our own, or whatever, we’re all responsible. If we stay, we’re all responsible. ... It’s going to have to be we all have to work together on this. I think that we’ve got an opportunity right now to really kind of clean house and really kind of see the kinds of costs and ways to save and actually improve processes.”
Gibson called the discussion about leaving the IWMA “a failure of governance.” He agreed the organization needs reform and to clean up “poor internal controls” that could lead to corruption.
But he pointed out small business owners will potentially see their garbage rates increase as a result of the county’s departure from the organization. That rate hike could be comparable to what businesses would pay to implement the polystyrene ban, Gibson said.
“It’s a failure of governance on this board’s majority to bring this item before us,” he said. “It’s a failure of governance of this board’s majority to refuse to work on correcting those issues that need to be worked on to make this regional authority to what it is instituted to do to the benefit of the residents of this county.”
