Angelina County commissioners approve landfill rate increase

LUFKIN, Texas (KTRE) - The Angelina County Commissioners court approved an increase in landfill service rates for residents Tuesday.

The new landfill rates will affect all residents, and commissioners noted that the current increase will be effective from 2024 to 2027.

According to a rate study implemented by the county, the City of Lufkin will pay $33.58 per ton for landfill services, while county residents will pay $6.60 per cubic yard, increasing rates by 10 percent. This increase will be part of a new agreement with the City of Lufkin after the current agreement was terminated in the Tuesday meeting.

Angelina County will review a revenue requirement for the landfill over the next five years to ensure their budgets are met.

Christian Sanchez lives in Lufkin. He said he understands the increase.

“I’m not really surprised at this point, you’re paying bills, rent, everything going up, inflation going up like crazy so at this point I’m not caught by surprise with it,” said Sanchez.

Sanchez said the new rate isn’t much to pay for the service you get in return.

“In this case I can see it not really affecting me, however like I said it’s very fortunate to have this in Angelina County, just to be able to dump the trash, especially heavy loads and what not, being able to get rid of clutter around the house comes in handy,” said Sanchez.

Angelina County Judge Keith Wright tells us what happens next.

“Implement those rate increases in January, and we’ll start collecting those fees, and I really don’t expect that we’ll get close to the fees covering the actual expenses until 2026, 2027,” said Wright.

Wright wants people to keep an open mind about the rate increase.

“They got to look at the alternative, what if we didn’t have a landfill, and what would it cost to dispose of your waste then, I can assure you it would be much much more. So, this is something that has to be done for the good of the county, for the good of the people of the county,” said Wright.

Wright said he does not know how long negotiations will take with the city of Lufkin, but he suspects they won’t be long as the new landfill rates go into effect Jan. 1, 2024.

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Angelina County to raise landfill service rates due to inflation

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