§ 4-4-22. Powers.

The unit shall have all of the powers granted by law to the county for providing garbage and trash collection and disposal, including without limiting the generality of the foregoing the power:

(1)

To sue and be sued, implead and be impleaded and complain and defend in all courts in its own name;

(2)

To acquire for the purposes of the unit by grant, purchase, gift, devise, exchange or in any other lawful manner all property, real or personal, or any estate or interest therein, upon such terms and conditions as the governing body shall determine, and to own all such property in its own name;

(3)

To make contractual arrangements with any public, private or municipal firm, person or corporation for the furnishing of trash, garbage, recycling, and yard waste collection and disposal within the unit, or for any matter proper to the effectuation of the purposes of the unit. The term "contractual arrangements" includes the power to grant exclusive franchises for garbage and trash collection and disposal; provided, however, that all contracts or franchises heretofore granted and presently in effect are ratified;

(4)

To make and adopt, by resolution of the governing body, rules and regulations governing the collection and disposal of trash, garbage, recycling, and yard waste within the unit for the purpose of providing the most economical means of trash and garbage collection and disposal, and for the purpose of protecting the health, welfare and safety of the residents of the unit;

(5)

To adopt and use a seal and alter the same;

(6)

To borrow and expend money and issue bonds, revenue certificates and other obligations of indebtedness in such manner and subject to such limitations as may be provided by law;

(7)

To resolve, by proceedings before the governing body providing due process, disputes between franchisees and consumers involving the making of contractual arrangements for trash, garbage, recycling, and yard waste collection and disposal not provided for by special assessments; and to ensure that all nonresidential consumers are informed of their rights to lodge complaints and mediate those disputes;

(8)

To regulate the rates, charges and fees imposed upon residential and nonresidential customers of any franchisee. All rates, charges and services in effect on December 1, 1987, may not be increased by any franchisee except with the approval of the governing body after public notice and hearing, or except as otherwise provided herein;

(9)

To prescribe, fix, establish, and regulate rates, charges and fees which are just, reasonable, compensatory, and not unfairly discriminatory within any defined class, considering the value and quality of service and the cost of providing the service. The governing body by resolution may increase or decrease rates, charges and services;

(10)

To establish a price index which may be used to establish an increase or decrease in rates, charges and fees;

(11)

To authorize by resolution without a public hearing an adjustment in residential and nonresidential rates, charges and fees necessitated by an adjustment in the county's solid waste facility disposal fees;

(12)

To establish by resolution a complaint procedure where disputes between the franchisee and residential customers are resolved providing notice and due process;

(13)

To ensure that all residential and nonresidential customers are informed of their rights to complain and for mediation respecting rates and quality of service imposed by any franchisee and to ensure that the rates charged by franchisees are filed with the administrator. No franchisee may increase the charges for residential or nonresidential customers, unless with the approval of the board of county commissioners as provided herein;

(14)

In regulation, to fix rates which are just, reasonable, compensatory and not unfairly discriminatory, considering the value and quality of the service and the cost of providing the service, the commission by resolution may establish a price increase or decrease index for major categories of operating costs including fees imposed for landfill dumping incurred by franchisees reflecting the percentage of increase or decrease in such costs for the most recent twelve-month historical data available.

(Ord. No. 2004-006, § 1, 2-10-04; Ord. No. 2008-061, § 1, 9-9-08)