Angelina County to raise landfill service rates due to inflation

LUFKIN, Texas (KTRE) - Angelina County Judge Keith Wright says a new agreement is needed between the county and City of Lufkin regarding landfill services.

County commissioners will meet Tuesday to potentially end the current agreement.

“Right now, our rates, the rate of inflation, the rate of our expense, the cost, have gone up significantly, and we can’t keep up with those costs, and so the county implemented a rate study,” said Wright.

Wright says the rate study showed that they were losing money at the current rates.

“The proposed budget is $4,778,000, so we’re collecting fees of 3.6 and we’re spending 4.7. That’s not good business; we can’t continue to function like that, and that’s with the County putting in another million dollars,” said Wright.

Wright says the County will have to terminate the current agreement with the City of Lufkin and come back and negotiate a new agreement with higher rates.

According to the rate study, the City of Lufkin will pay $33.58 per ton for landfill services, while county residents will pay $6.60, Increasing rates by 10 percent.

Lufkin Mayor Mark Hicks says he understands the need to increase rates for the City, but he feels for the citizens.

“It’s unfortunate, because it’s going to cost the residents of the city their bills going to go up each month, but I understand it’s a county-wide rate increase so it’s not just the city,” said Hicks.

While residents will have to pay more, Mayor Hicks says using Angelina County’s landfill is the best choice.

“There’s not a lot of options here as far as landfills close by. You’ve got to figure in the cost, wear and tear on the truck, to drive further, more miles away from the city, so I feel like in the past the county’s been fair with the city, and I think they’ll continue to do so,” said Hicks.

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

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