Florida § 403.7049 - Determination of full cost for solid waste management; local solid waste management fees.

§ 403.7049. Determination of full cost for solid waste management; local solid waste management fees.

(1) Each county and each municipality shall determine each year the full cost for solid waste management within the service area of the county or municipality. The department shall establish by rule the method for local governments to use in calculating full cost. In developing the rule, the department shall examine the feasibility of the use of an enterprise fund process by local governments in operating their solid waste management systems. (2)(a) Each municipality shall establish a system to inform, no less than once a year, residential and nonresidential users of solid waste management services within the municipality’s service area of the user’s share, on an average or individual basis, of the full cost for solid waste management as determined pursuant to subsection (1). Counties shall provide the information required of municipalities only to residential and nonresidential users of solid waste management services within the county’s service area that are not served by a municipality. Municipalities shall include costs charged to them or persons contracting with them for disposal of solid waste in the full cost information provided to residential and nonresidential users of solid waste management services. (b) Counties and municipalities are encouraged to operate their solid waste management systems through use of an enterprise fund. (3) For purposes of this section, “service area” means the area in which the county or municipality provides, directly or by contract, solid waste management services. The provisions of this section shall not be construed to require a person operating under a franchise agreement to collect or dispose of solid waste within the service area of a county or municipality to make the calculations or to establish a system to provide the information required under this section, unless such person agrees to do so as part of such franchise agreement. (4) Each county and each municipality which provides solid waste collection services, either through its own operations or by contract, is encouraged to charge fees to each residential and nonresidential user of the solid waste collection service which vary based upon the volume or weight of solid waste that is collected from each user. (5) In order to assist in achieving the municipal solid waste reduction goal and the recycling provisions of s. 403.706(2), a county or a municipality which owns or operates a solid waste management facility is hereby authorized to charge solid waste disposal fees which may vary based on a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the amount, characteristics, and form of recyclable materials present in the solid waste that is brought to the county’s or the municipality’s facility for processing or disposal. (6) In addition to all other fees required or allowed by law, a county or a municipality, at the discretion of its governing body, may impose a fee for the services the county or municipality provides with regard to the collection, processing, or disposal of solid waste, to be used for developing and implementing a recycling program. For such fees, the local governing body of any county or municipality may use the non-ad valorem levy, collection, and enforcement method as provided for in chapter 197. (7) This section does not prohibit a county, municipality, or other person from providing grants, loans, or other aid to low-income persons to pay part or all of the costs of such persons’ solid waste management services.