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      Tipping Fee Tipping Point.

      Metro is up to its same old tricks. And we need to tell them to stop it.

      Metro is overcharging for residential garbage and the Clackamas County Commission can put an end to this by simply amending the county code to pass on reduced Metro fees to the residential customers that are being overcharged.

      We need your voice of support to help correct this violation. 

      This time last year, I was campaigning for chair of the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners on a platform of fiscal responsibility. That included a pledge to county residents to ensure they get what their tax dollars are paying for.

      I also ran on the need for the board of commissioners to put the county and its residents before those of outside entities like Metro.

      Voters agreed with my stances, and I won the chair position outright in the May 2020 primary election. But even though county residents had expressed their desire for more responsible handling of their hard-earned money, I’m still faced with resistance from agencies, public employees with agendas and some of my fellow commissioners.

      First, I fought to repeal the vehicle registration fee that the previous board of commissioners imposed without adequate public process. Now, I’m taking on Metro, as all indications are that it’s up to the same old shenanigans when it comes to your money.

      Metro operates a dump in Clackamas County. Whenever a hauler goes to dump garbage there, it pays a tipping fee to Metro of just under $100 per ton.

      The county grants franchises for trash collection services and its board of commissioners establishes a waste management fee to set the limit on what the franchisee may charge to customers.

      But it turns out that Metro is charging garbage customers in the county more than the service costs to provide. Even worse, Metro is paying the contractors who actually provide the service less than they’re supposed to. Documentation exists to prove these claims.

      This is in direct violation of Metro’s charter. Section 15 of that document states that “charges for the provision of goods or services by Metro may not exceed the costs of providing the goods or services.” As such, the tip fee is illegal and must be reduced to a charge that is in a legal amount more in line with the cost of providing those services.

      Metro’s dubious practice was challenged in court by a couple of county residents. In response, Metro had an attorney file a motion to dismiss the lawsuit on the grounds that Clackamas County residents lack standing in the matter. In other words, Metro used your tax dollars to pay an attorney to tell a judge that it’s none of your business if you don’t get the services you’re paying for.

      An argument made by Metro’s taxpayer-funded attorneys states that even if the tipping fee is reduced, there is no guarantee the savings will be passed on to county residents. To me, this is nothing more than a cop-out and an attempt by Metro to avoid accountability.

      In response, I’m putting an ordinance before my fellow commissioners. If passed, it will amend the county’s code to state that if Metro reduces or is required by a court to reduce its tip fee, the waste management fee shall be reduced for customers on a dollar-by-dollar basis.

      The first hearing of this proposed ordinance is scheduled for Thursday, April 1 at 10 a.m. A second reading is tentatively scheduled for two weeks later, on April 15.

      I’m doing everything I can to look out for the ratepayers and taxpayers in Clackamas County, but I need your help to do so. Any citizens who agree that we should be getting what we pay for out of Metro is strongly urged to participate and testify in favor of the ordinance.

      Taking on Metro is no small task, but it’s one I know we can take on together. Help me hold this agency accountable to, and for, every resident of Clackamas County.

      4 thoughts on “Tipping Fee Tipping Point.

      1. Martha Miesen says:

        The system is very bad. I fired one company, because of old equipment and giving me grief saying cans over 32 lbs. Now I can not have another company pick up because of the no compete clause. Totally unacceptable. There should be freedom of competition. I can take to the dump cheaper and not have the aggravation, until something is done about letting Metro control!

      2. Kristin Roche says:

        Thank you for being on top of this! Metro’s antics are deceptive and under-handed…it’s a shame more residents are not aware of ther money-grabbing tactics.

      3. Elvis Clark says:

        I support your efforts on Metro’s garbage tipping fee, although I am not really to up to speed on this matter. I would also not something I plan to provide public comment on regarding Metro and the City of Portland, at tomorrow’s business meeting. Metro is delegating the City of Portland as its administrator and tax collector for Metro’s new homeless services income tax; such that the City of Portland is destined to ask for Clackamas residents outside of the City of Portland for their income tax returns. I see this as an affront to Clackamas County’s independence from the City of Portland outside of its borders – which is most of Clackamas County and within Metro’s jurisdiction in Clackamas.

        1. Elvis Clark says:

          That should have read…”I would also plan to provide public comment on regarding metro….”

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