With rapidly increasing fuel prices, the Carroll County Solid Waste District (CCSW) says it is drastically exceeding its monthly fuel budget. In April, the waste management provider exceeded the monthly fuel budget by over $10,000. CCSW works with cities to implement a fuel surcharge dependent on monthly fuel expenses. It either becomes the city’s burden through a surcharge or the district would be forced to issue rate increases to customers. “The last time the prices were up around this was around 2008, 2009, 2010,” said George Boatright, CCSW executive director. “The price of fuel is hurting us right now. With the price of fuel, we’re paying about $4.61/gallon.”
Data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics show inflation may slow. Prices rose 8.3 percent in April compared with a year ago and 0.3 percent in March. ”It’s been a challenge, and we’ve been able to handle everything except the price of fuel,” said Berryville Mayor and CCSW Chairman Tim McKinney. ”We want to provide quality solid waste and recycling services at a reasonable price. So what this surcharge does is keeps us where we’re at and allows us to maintain the level of service we want to provide our customers.”
With current fuel prices, CCSW anticipates the average customer seeing about 60 cent increase in their bill.