Richland County could allow vacant properties to opt out of waste service charge

If you don’t use a service, should you have to pay for it?

One County Council member says that’s not fair, specifically when it comes to the county’s solid-waste pickup service.

Councilman Norman Jackson Tuesday persuaded a council committee to recommend a procedure to allow owners of vacant properties to opt out of a $249 annual waste pickup charge.

He noted, specifically, people who inherit houses and don’t live in them but don’t sell them right away.

“It’s unfair, if they’re not using the property, to be paying for a service they don’t receive, don’t use.”

To qualify to have a property’s solid waste charge removed, these conditions would have to be met:

▪ The house has been vacant for more than 90 days.

▪ The electricity has been turned off and the meter removed by the electrical utility.

▪ The owner will notify the Solid Waste and Recycling Department within five business days if the electricity is turned back on.

▪ The owner will notify the department immediately if anyone moves into the house, even if the electricity is not turned on.

▪ The owner will provide a yard maintenance plan.

Richland County is the only county in the state to have a mandatory curbside collection program, according Randy Curtis, the county’s interim director of solid waste and recycling. In the past two years or so, perhaps five people have requested to have their collection charge removed, Curtis said.

The council Development and Services committee is recommending the full council later approve the procedure for opting out of the service charge.

This story was originally published April 28, 2015 at 6:27 PM with the headline "Richland County could allow vacant properties to opt out of waste service charge."