Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 6136 ORDINANCE NO. AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE FEES CHARGED FOR THE DISPOSAL OF REFUSE AT CITY OPERATED REFUSE DISPOSAL SITES BY AMENDING SECTION 16-19 OF CHAPTER 16 OF THE FORT WORTH CITY CODE (1964) ; MAKING THIS ORDINANCE CUMULATIVE OF PRIOR ORDINANCES; REPEALING ALL ORDI- NANCES AND PROVISIONS OF THE FORT WORTH CITY CODE IN CONFLICT HEREWITH; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PRO- VIDING A PENALTY; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS: SECTION 1 . That Section 16-19 of Chapter 16 of the Fort Worth City Code (1964) is hereby amended and after having been so amended same shall hereafter read as follows: "Sec. 16-19 . Dumping fees . "a. Persons disposing of refuse at any city operated disposal site, incinera- tor , dump or sanitary landfill, including persons holding a valid permit for private collection and disposal of refuse, shall pay a dumping fee for each and every load of refuse dumped or deposited in accord- ance with the schedule of charges set out below. These charges shall not be applied to loads of refuse collected by the Texas Highway Department from the rights of way of public streets and highways , nor to disposal of refuse resulting from the ac- tivities of any department of the city government. Type of Vehicle Fee Passenger automobiles and station wagons No charge Compactor type vehicles (nearest 1/4 ton) $0.80 per ton of refuse All other vehicles and re- fuse containers (nearest 1/4 ton) $1 .00 per ton of refuse Earth, rocks and inert ma- terial suitable for cover of refuse No charge (the acceptability of such material shall be determined by the Sanitation Superin- tendent or his authorized representative and shall be delivered to sites designated by him) "b. Any person entering upon a city operated disposal site for any purpose shall be conclusively presumed to know and appre- ciate the hazards and the extent of the damage which accompanies the accumulation of scrap wood, glass, nails , trash, brush, waste and garbage of every description and the use of trucks, vehicles and heavy ma- chinery to move, remove, bury and dispose of same, and every such person entering upon any such site shall be conclusively presumed to have assumed the risk of injury connected with or resulting from such hazards and danger and by his or her action in entering upon such site and for and in consideration of the permission granted by the City of Fort Worth to enter upon such site every such person shall covenant and be deemed to have covenanted not to sue and to indemnify, save harmless and defend the City of Fort Worth, its agents , officers and employees from and against any and all claims of any nature whatsoever for injury or damage to person or property, whether real or asserted, arising out of or resulting from the entry by such person upon any city operated refuse disposal site . 2 - SECTION 2 . That this ordinance shall repeal every prior ordi- nance and provision of the Fort Worth City Code in con- flict herewith but only insofar as the portion of such prior ordinance or provision shall be in conflict, and as to all other ordinances or provisions of the Fort Worth City Code not in direct conflict herewith, this ordinance shall be and is hereby made cumulative. SECTION 3 . That if any section, part of a section or provision of any section of this ordinance shall be held to be void, ineffective or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, the holding of such section, part of a section or provision of any section to be void, ineffective or unconstitutional for any cause whatsoever shall in no way affect the validity of the remaining sections and pro- visions of this ordinance, which shall remain in full force and effect. The City Council would not have passed any sections , parts of sections or provisions of any sec- tion of this ordinance that were unconstitutional , void or ineffective if it hadknown that they were unconstitu- tional, void or ineffective at the time of adopting this ordinance. SECTION 4 . That the violation of any provision of this ordinance or of the Fort Worth City Code relating to the disposal of - 3 - garbage and the payment of fees therefor shall be deemed an offense and punishable by a fine not exceeding Two Hundred Dollars ($200) , and each violation thereof and each day there is a failure to comply with the terms of this ordinance shall be and is hereby deemed to be a dis- tinct and separate offense and punishable as such. SECTION 5 . That this ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage and publication as required by law. APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY: .!57 4 6�* City Attorney Adopted by the City Council ( qac Effective k:Qec? _/,� � 7 4 - ''"°M*M City of Port Worth, Texas 1.lNt _ MoRMS Mayor a Communication Council R,a B. -ww� DATE rFERENCE suBJEcr: Revision of Refuse Disposal Fees MAGE UMBER for Private and Commercial Haulers 2 6/30/69 1 G-1396 s or In addition to providing refuse collection and disposal service for Fort Worth residences and commercial firms, disposal service only is provided at the City's landfill system for commercial refuse haulers and individuals who haul refuse to the landfill sites. Fees are charged which are intended to fully offset the cost of refuse disposal service. The existing disposal fees were established in 1964 bn the basis of size and type of vehicle used to haul refuse to the disposal site. The fee schedule, which is applicable at this time, follows: Type of Vehicle Charge Per Load Passenger Automobiles $ .25 Trucks and Trailers, one ton capacity or less .35 Two axle trucks or trailers, except for packer- type refuse collection trucks and trucks haul- ing special refuse collection containers 1.50 Three or more axle trucks or trailers and packer type refuse collection trucks 3.25 Special refuse containers with cubic yard capacity .15 per c.y. Inadequacy of Present Fees An analysis of 1967-68 revenues and expenditures for refuse disposal service only indicates that total costs attributable to private and commercial dumping were $121,775. Revenues from fees charged for this service were $60,386, resulting in a net loss subsidized by Fort Worth taxpayers of $61,389. Private and commercial haulers deposited 149,359 tons of refuse at the City's sanitary landfill system, accounting for approximately 45.4 per cent of the total refuse disposal workload. Total operating costs of the sanitary landfill system amounted to $268,228. All refuse handled at the sanitary landfill system is weighed, making it possible to determine with a high degree of accuracy the portion of the total workload that is attributable to private and commercial haulers. Inequity of Fee System In connection with this study of refuse disposal fees, a survey was made which in- dicates that the present method of establishing fees (size and type of vehicle) results in serious inequities. Vehicles falling in the $.35 fee category repre- sent 80 per cent of the total number of vehicles using the disposal facilities, but revenues from this class of vehicles is disproportionately lower. At best, the size and type of vehicle system provides only a rough guideline as to dis- posal service rendered. There is some indication that a few landfill users are taking advantage of the ambiguities of this system by building up sideboards on the $.35 fee category vehicles to obtain a cheaper rate for refuse disposal. This survey also indicated that vehicles hauling refuse from outside the City limits of Fort Worth to the Fort Worth sanitary landfills represents 20 per cent of the total traffic at the landfills. s DATE REFERS CE SUBJECT: Revision of Refuse Disposal PAGE NUMBERFees for Private and Commercial Haulers 2 2 6/30/69 G-1396 of Proposed Refuse Disposal Fees In order to establish a rate basis which is directly related to the value of ser- vice provided, it is proposed to establish disposal fees on the basis of cost per ton. This is the most accurate and fair method presently known to be available to measure refuse disposal workload. Scales are available at the sanitary landfill sites, and all refuse hauled to the sites by private and commercial haulers, as well as City crews, is being weighed for management information purposes. No ad- ditional administrative costs are expected to be incurred by the City or landfill users in converting to tonnage charges as the basis for determining fees. Total direct operating costs of the Fort Worth sanitary landfill system in 1967-68 amounted to $268,228. The total refuse disposal workload at the landfill sites was 3273,983 tons, resulting in an average $.83 per ton disposal cost. It is pro- posed to establish a disposal fee of $1.00 per ton, scaled upward or downward to the nearest quarter ton. While this amount is slightly in excess of 1967-68 actual costs, the 1967-68 actual cost figure does not take into account land costs or administrative and overhead costs. Further, establishment of the rate of $1.00 will provide some stability by precluding the necessity of again adjusting rates in the immediate future due to higher wage rates and other inflationary cost factors which are affecting costs in the 1968-69 fiscal year. Exemption of Automobiles and Station Wagons Passenger automobiles used to haul refuse represent only three per cent of the tot 1 traffic at the Fort Worth sanitary landfill sites. This is at least par= tia ly due to the low capacity of the automobile for hauling refuse and the dis- pro ortionately high fee presently assigned to this type of vehicle. The inequity of this high fee is believed to be a contributing factor in the present high inci- den a of roadside dumping of refuse from private automobiles, which is a health hazard and adversely affects the appearance of the community. To encourage area residents to utilize the sanitary landfill system, rather than dump refuse on the roadsides, it is proposed to allow persons hauling refuse in private automobiles and station wagons to use the City's sanitary landfill system at no charge. Recommendation It is recommended that an ordinance be adopted establishing new rates for disposal of refuse at the City's sanitary landfill system, effective August 1, 1969, as listed below: Type of Vehicle Fee Passenger Automobiles and Station Wagons No Charge All other vehicles and refuse containers $1.00 per tort of refuse (fee to be scaled to nearest quarter ton) HDM:mhg SUBMITTED BY: DISPOSITION COUNCIL: PROCESSED /� PPROVED TNER (DESCRIBE) is�� CITY SECRETARY CITY MANAGER ^ �/