“We are in this because of the state of Ohio,” Daniel Gordon, Bowling Green city council member, said, expressing his concern for the need to implement a new recycling and refuse fee due to cuts in revenue.

Budget cuts from the state government have led city council to propose a new refuse and recycling fee to ensure the city continues its pledge to environmental sustainability.

Municipal Administrator Lori Tretter opened this Monday’s city council meeting with a reading of the new refuse and recycling fee that will come into effect January 2018. Citizens living in one and two family dwellings who currently receive refuse and recycling services or any new dwellings that meet the criteria will be charged a $13 standard monthly fee.

The fee acts to offset the loss in funding from the state, and is being implemented in order to raise an additional $800,000 for the city general fund. Additional money raised will go to the capital improvement fund toward scheduled replacement of recycling and refuse vehicles.

One notable aspect of the fee is those who live in an eligible dwelling must pay the fee and cannot opt out.

Tretter offered several justifications for this policy. “Large vehicles from other private firms servicing individual residences would put additional wear on our city streets and would add to the congestion and pollution.”

She also said the fixed budget for the refuse service contributed to the decision to use a mandatory fee. Costs for the equipment, wages and other expenses would remain the same, no matter how many citizens contributed money.

“If there were fewer households,” Tretter said, “costs would increase to the remaining citizens.”

Another reason Tretter said the fee would be mandatory was that a lack of uniformity caused by multiple refuse services and their different methods and containers would decrease the appeal of town aesthetics.

In an effort to potentially reduce the costs of the fee, the city will be sharing the cost of a new sustainability coordinator position within the utility department. Responsibilities in this position will include education and identification of new ways for the city and community to reduce waste and how to more efficiently use our resources.

“I didn’t want our residents paying such a costly fee,” said Council Member Sandy Rowland. “And I didn’t initially support its implementation, but many people I have talked to have told me they are willing to pay it. If we are going to be more sustainable, we need to keep recycling and keep large waste out of our landfill.”

The city is also restructuring its collection of brush and large item pickups. Citizens can call and request a brush pickup once a month between April and May and between September and October. Bowling Green residents can also call and request a large item pickup twice a week all year, and the first two pickups from a residence in a year are free.