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The Winchester Select Board on April 13 approved a partial package of transfer station revenue measures, but pulled back from voting on higher commercial tipping fees, asking staff to return with a more rigorous analysis of indirect costs, capital costs and fee equity before any rate change moves forward.
On a motion from Paras Bhayani, the board voted to adopt three of the four revenue recommendations in an updated April 9 memo from Public Works Director Bob LaBossiere: sales of processed organic material to contractors, a revised schedule of bulky-item disposal fees, and an optional, voluntary program to separate glass from the recycling stream.
Bhayani asked that the measures be implemented by July 1.
Members left the fourth and largest piece, a proposed increase in commercial tipping fees, for a future meeting.
Chair Anthea Brady said the board expects any vote on commercial rates to come after Spring Town Meeting rather than at its pre-Town-Meeting session.
Michael Bettencourt agreed, saying the board should not take up the question at a lightly attended meeting given the public interest in the topic.
The measures that did advance are the smaller pieces of the revenue plan.
LaBossiere’s memo estimates that marketing processed organic material to landscapers and other contractors could bring in about $25,000. The bulky-item changes, including new $10 disposal fees for toilets and printers and modest increases on couches, mattresses, tires and appliances, are projected to add about $18,250.
The voluntary glass-separation pilot could save roughly $20,000 in recycling disposal costs if residents participate at sufficient levels, though Transfer Station Manager Nick Parlee cautioned the board that rebuilding the habit after the town moved to single-stream recycling would be, in his words, “a Herculean lift.”
Commercial tipping fees are where the larger dollars sit. LaBossiere’s memo presents options ranging from about $83,275 in new annual revenue under the Department of Public Works’ initial proposal to $171,275 under a higher-tier scenario.
The current commercial solid waste rate is $190 a ton, with the department recommending $210 a ton. Commercial mixed waste is currently $210 a ton, with a proposed move to $230, and construction and demolition debris is $246.75 a ton, with a proposed move to $260.
Before moving any of those numbers, board members said they want a clearer picture of what it actually costs the town to run the station.
A fall analysis identified roughly $328,000 in indirect expenses, covering items such as employee benefits, energy, administrative support, garage and tractor repairs and general insurance, costs that do not appear directly in the transfer station’s line-item budget.
Bhayani told staff the goal should be full accounting before rates are set.
“It’s not about generating surplus profit from any municipal asset. It’s about being able to say that we broke even,” he said, urging the department to build an analysis “as though we were a business breaking even, putting all the costs in there,” including other post-employment benefits, ongoing capital work and the debt service from the roughly $6.2 million transfer station rebuild.
Michelle Prior pressed the equity question, noting that residential permit holders currently shoulder the capital portion of the station’s financing. Under the current structure, roughly $300,000 in annual debt service is paid through the residential permit’s capital fee, while commercial and business permits contribute about $4,100.
“If we’re looking at making adjustments for equity, I want to be talking about capital and how that’s getting paid for, because that’s a long-term debt that we’re all trying to pay off,” Prior said.
She indicated she would prefer to revisit commercial rates in the fall rather than rush a decision in coming weeks.
Bettencourt said any commercial-rate changes should be phased in rather than layered on quickly.
“It may be helpful that we start phasing in incrementally some of those costs, so we’re not just dealing with it twice,” he said, adding that predictability matters for haulers and residents alike.
Parlee, who oversees day-to-day operations, flagged timing as a practical concern, asking the board to confirm a July 1 effective date for the measures that did pass so that staff and vendors would not be caught flat-footed.
He also told members the station still has capacity to bring on additional outside haulers, a track the board signaled it wants to keep pursuing as a separate revenue lever.
The board directed the town manager and Department of Public Works staff to return with updated numbers on indirect costs, capital expenditures and a review of how the residential capital fee has played out since the rebuild was financed.
Will Dowd is a Massachusetts journalist who covers municipal government and community life for Winchester News. He runs The Marblehead Independent, a reader-funded digital newsroom.
