Culbertson council acts on garbage rates, landfill fees and hauling contracts amid fund shortfall

Facing a continuing deficit in the garbage fund, the Culbertson Town Council enacted an emergency ordinance to raise residential and commercial garbage rates and took several follow-up steps to stabilize operations.

In March 1987 the council passed an emergency increase to garbage rates, raising residential accounts by $1.00 per month and commercial accounts by $2.00 per month to move the fund toward a break-even position. The council also discussed compensation for longer hauling distances to the new landfill and later approved a $260-per-month increase to the contract with hauler Lynn Labatte to cover additional mileage once the new landfill opened.

To set long-term fees, councilors invited representatives from Bainville and Froid to discuss regional usage and agreed to run a short-term user survey to determine whether dump users are town or country residents, what vehicles they use and the kinds of waste they bring. That information was intended to inform whether to charge all users a dumping fee and pay the county for excavation work.

Other operational moves included stricter enforcement of can, lid and rack ordinances prior to the Centennial, direction to send overdue ambulance collection accounts to a credit bureau, and the decision to post landfill hours and a sign one hour before sunset. The council also approved a demolition-fee approach to accept burned or razed structure debris on a square-foot basis, to be formalized by ordinance.

Next steps: finalize the user survey, implement contract increases when the new landfill opens, and present fee-options to the council for decision.