Solid Waste Enterprise Fund Support (City of Baltimore, Maryland)

The City of Baltimore operates a full-scope solid waste management system for its residents. The City provides once-per-week collection of solid waste and once-per-week recycling for almost 200,000 households through its One Plus One program. These collection activities are provided with City-owned and operated collection trucks. The City owns and operates the Northwest Transfer Station and one landfill, the Quarantine Road Landfill. The City contracts with BRESCO through the Northeast Maryland Waste Disposal Authority for the processing of waste at the 2,250 tpd facility located within the City, which has been operating for more than 20 years. The City also offers several other activities, including a monthly collection of bulky waste and a series of special recycling collections for HHW, used oil, building materials, leaves, and Christmas trees. The City also operates a fleet of boats that cleans floating debris from Baltimore Harbor. The Bureau receives its operating budget from the City’s General Fund. Customers receiving service from the Bureau's various programs do not pay any fees. The City had an interest in moving the costs of certain special services out of the General Fund and charging service recipients directly for them, including amounts sufficient to cover all costs. As a first step toward this objective, the Bureau engaged EA Engineering and GBB to conduct a modified Full Cost Accounting (FCA) Study. Data was received from the City on all costs it incurs, including operational, development, and debt repayment costs. Also, GBB reviewed the City’s facilities and programs, drew conclusions about cost efficiencies, and recommended ways to reduce costs while maintaining service levels. This study identified costs, on an accrual basis, including current year expenses, and other costs that may be incurred before or after the year in which service was provided, to account for such costs as development costs, landfill closure and post-closure care, and other costs, to identify the “whole costs” of operating the various components of the solid waste management system. Elements, or activities, of the system were identified to analyze and present annual costs for a prior year for which audited costs were available. Also, cost projections for the same activities over 10 years, based on the continuation of programs and facilities, as well as any planned revisions, were prepared.GBB participated in discussions with other City departments, including the Law Department, to identify feasible steps and issues to address while implementing an Enterprise Fund for a portion of the system. An evaluation of Pay as You Throw (PAYT) options was also performed.