Landfill Permits Net Town $6K in Fees

By:  David Deschesne

Fort Fairfield Journal, March 5, 2014

   With the increase in price on landfill permits in Fort Fairfield to $50.00, the town has netted $6,680 to apply toward their landfill fees.  Originally $10.00, the additional $40.00 added on to the permit fee, which only applies to the townspeople in Fort Fairfield who bring their trash directly to Tri Community Landfill and not the commercial haulers in town, is applied toward the town's tipping fee at the landfill that would otherwise be paid for by the taxpayers as a whole from the town's general fund. The remaining $10 of the permit fee remains with Tri-Community Landfill. The decision to increase fees at the landfill was in response to the citizenry who demanded not to have their property tax mil rate increased.

   “That's one of the things we have received some criticism on from our citizenry, that we should not have raised the permits,” said town manager, Mike Bosse.  “But one of the benefits of raising those permits of course was we don't have to raise the mil rate on the taxes for the community.”

   Bosse said the town has realized approximately fifty percent of the revenue on the town’s budgeted line item for the landfill.