The V.I. Waste Management Authority held the first of three public meetings Tuesday at the Education Curriculum Center on St. Croix as it presents its proposed special waste fee structure and to hear public feedback of what the authority plans to submit to the Public Service Commission at the end of this month.

May Adams Cornwall, VIWMA’s executive director, summed up as the meeting began what would seem to be the prevailing theme of the evening – change can be difficult.

“This is never an easy task. I just listened around the room as I was coming in and I know there is resistance, opposition, all kinds of reasons why fees should not be imposed,” Cornwall said, but added that the last time any fees were implemented was nine years ago.

She said with the government warning that allocations won’t be near the current $30 million a year, the special waste fees being proposed on items ranging from tires to televisions were necessary in order for the authority to begin to generate its own revenues.

“The V.I. government is in dire straits and a lot of the money we thought we were getting for 2014 will, in fact, not be there,” she said.

If the PSC approves the idea, a new point of import collection will be made by VIWMA to handle the disposal cost of hazardous waste that comes with the items. When not disposed of properly, the items can be hazardous to the public’s wellbeing, she said.

While noting the objections to this method of collection at the meetings held previously, Cornwall said point of import was the simplest and most efficient system to implement, and that ultimately it would prove to be the least expensive for retailers, the VIWMA and consumers.

“It’s a simple collection mechanism. You don’t have to change anything you’re doing except going to the port, picking up your stuff and making a payment,” she said.

A point of sale fee on the items was also considered and still could be considered in the future if circumstances called for such an action, Cornwall said.

Specifically the fees being sought by VIWMA once these items enter the territory include:
– $3 for Class 1 tires weighing less than 35 pounds;
– $6 for Class 2 tires weighing greater than 35 pounds;
– 50 cents per foot for fluorescent linear bulbs;
– $15 for televisions;
– $20 for floor stand fax/copier machines;
– $12.50 for computer servers and notebooks;
– $7.50 for desktop print, fax, copy and scan machines;
– $3 for telephones and cell phones;
– $3 for camcorders and recording devices;
– $10 for small Freon white goods and appliances (refrigerator) and $20 for large Freon units. A non-Freon unit (i.e. a washing machine) would be $10;
– and 50 cents per gallon for lubricating oils.

The plan also includes a fee for people to start paying for the disposal of their automobile. The fee will be 15 percent of the vehicle’s annual registration fee as long as the car is registered in the territory.

Cornwall said there would also be a grace period implemented with the fees so to give importers a chance to get ahead with their existing inventory.

“We believe we’ve put you in a position where the financial impact of the initial fees would be absorbed because you’ll be able to generate revenues without a cost initially,” she said.

Cornwall said the authority would support and propose legislation that would make the fees exempt from gross receipts.

“I’ve had a discussion with one senator who understands that,” Cornwall said. “We can’t make all 15 vote for it, but I think they would get it.”

After Cornwall gave her 15 minute presentation, she spent the next 75 minutes mostly defending it and the discussion often wandered to other big issues facing the authority, like how to handle illegal dumping, the littering problem and what its plans are for the future as it tries to bring in more revenue amid decreasing government financial support.

“This is the beginning. You asked me about fees at the landfill and that’s coming,” Cornwall said. “What about the fees to collect the waste at the homes? We’re coming with that too. It is not over.”

Vince Ebbesen, St. Croix’s solid waste director, noted that VIWMA uses some of that fee money on education, getting people in the territory to “change their mindset” regarding how they handle waste.

Largely, so far, he said, the education has been doled out in the schools, the hope being kids even educate their own parents if necessary.

The VIWMA will hold additional public meetings regarding this proposal on St. Thomas on Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Windward Passage Hotel, and on St. John on March 25 in the Legislative Conference Room from 6 to 8 p.m.