Although one man ejected himself, the third in a series of public meetings concerning the trash fee district taxpayers have been told they are obligated to pay was more sedate than the previous two.
Property tax notices mailed in the past month included an $18 fee, which will continue for an estimated 30 years. That fee applies to each business and residential property in the six counties that jointly purchased a landfill in 2005.
The six counties, including Carroll, formed the Ozark Mountain Solid Waste District, and OMSWD purchased a landfill in Baxter County. The landfill had problems right from the start, and closed in 2012, but bondholders who financed the purchase demanded payment. A judge ruled in their favor, and set in place a plan to repay the bonds. The decision attracted some public attention last year, but the major response came when the tax statements made the fee a reality rather than an abstraction.
In response to public outcry, State Sen. Bryan King called a public meeting at the Berryville Community Center on the evening of March 19, and more than 300 people attended. A meeting hosted by State Rep. Bob Ballinger the following morning had a smaller turnout, but lasted three-and-a-half hours.
The March 28 meeting attracted 60 people to hear from Geoffrey Treece, the attorney representing the receiver for the bond repayment. Treece announced in advance that he would limit the session to 90 minutes, as he had another similar meeting to attend.
Berryville police showed a measured response throughout the series of meetings, with several officers standing at the back of the hall at each session. Officers remained as spectators Monday and Tuesday, but one protestor on Wednesday came close to involving them.
Treece had said repeatedly he wanted to outline the history of the OMSWD before answering questions, but one man in the crowd interrupted several times. Treece repeated his promise to take questions at the end, but the man became impatient. When he stood and demanded immediate answers, Treece advised the man that if he could not restrain himself, he would ask the police to remove him. The man said he would save them the trouble and stalked out.
Others interjected calls to move along throughout Treece’s presentation, but allowed him to finish. Treece referred to the amount of misinformation on social media sites, and asked for patience in reviewing events that led to this situation.
He described the 1989 statute enabling solid waste districts, and the creation of the OMSWD. That agency paid $12.3 million for the Nabors Landfill in 2005, and the Northwest Arkansas Economic Development District took over the management. Although the crowd often grew restive, Treece insisted on the iteration.
“They bought a landfill already in trouble, with insufficient revenue to deal with the environmental problems,” Treece said. “I assume the thought they’d be able to work out the problems with the ADEQ [Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality], but it was doomed almost from the beginning.”
In 2009, the OMSWD board grew increasingly dissatisfied with the NWAEDD, and removed that agency from management. That step did not correct the problems, however, and the landfill closed in 2012. ADEQ took over the landfill under a summary judgment, and the OMSWD owes them $16 million to close the site properly.
Once the state finishes sealing the landfill, it will return the responsibility to the OMSWD to monitor the site for 30 years, at a cost of about $1.5 million. The $18 annual fee will be reduced to two dollars after bondholders and the ADEQ are repaid.
Some in the audience objected to the idea that the schedule called for repaying the bondholders more quickly than the taxpayer-funded ADEQ, but Treece explained again that compromise called for the bondholders to waive $3 million in accrued interest. The remaining $11.3 million will be repaid without interest. He said the bondholders would receive about 80 percent of the money for the first three years. They would split the proceeds with ADEQ for two years, and the ADEQ would take 80 percent of the proceeds thereafter.
Many of the other questions dealt with variations of one theme: why do we have to pay for something that we can’t use? Treece said the fee supports all the district’s services and obligations, not just the landfill. He cited ACA 8-6-714, which allows public entities to charge a service fee to residents and businesses, even if they do not use the service. The judge had noted in his ruling that the district should have charged a fee all along.
Responding to a question about implementation of the fee, Treece said some property owners had received incorrect notices, and properties such as boat slips, cell towers, or billboards would have the fee removed from their tax bills.
Chuck Olson, justice of the peace for District 2, criticized the lack of efforts to publicize this settlement in advance of implementation. “I messed up by not having these meetings before the bills went out,” Treece said. “I take responsibility for that.”
One woman noted that the bonds were not backed by committed tax revenue, and referred to them as “junk bonds.” Treece repeated his assertion that the district had an obligation to pay them. He acknowledged, “I expect there will be a lawsuit or lawsuits.”