§ 8-6-212 - County solid waste management systems. - Arkansas Statutes

8-6-212. County solid waste management systems.

(a) (1) Each county of the state is authorized to provide and shall provide a solid waste management system adequate to collect and dispose of all solid wastes generated or existing within the boundaries of the county and outside the corporate limits of any municipality in the county.

(2) By agreement or contractual arrangement, the county may assume responsibility for solid wastes generated within municipalities whether within its county or other counties.

(3) A county may enter into agreements with other counties, one (1) or more municipalities, a regional solid waste management district, governmental agencies, private persons, trusts, or with any combination thereof, to provide a solid waste management system for the county or any portion thereof, but the agreement shall not relieve the parties to the agreement of their responsibilities under this subchapter.

(b) (1) (A) A county government shall have the authority to levy and collect such fees and charges and require such licenses as may be appropriate to discharge the county's responsibility for a solid waste management system or any portion thereof. The fees, charges, and licenses shall be based on a fee schedule contained in a duly adopted ordinance.

(B) (i) A county may provide by ordinance that responsibility for payment of the fees and charges rests on the occupant of the property.

(ii) The ordinance shall provide that the owner of the property is considered the occupant unless, prior to the first day of the month of service, the owner registers with the county the name and address of the tenant occupying the property and the date the lease is to expire.

(2) (A) (i) A county government may collect its fees and service charges through either its own system of periodic billing or by entering the fees and service charges on the tax records of the county and then collecting the fees and service charges with the personal property taxes on an annual basis.

(ii) If a tenant has been registered as an occupant pursuant to subdivision (b)(1)(B)(ii) of this section, then the tenant is responsible for the payment of the fees and charges, and the county may collect on an annual basis the fees and charges from the tenant's personal property taxes.

(iii) If a tenant has not been registered as an occupant pursuant to subdivision (b)(1)(B)(ii) of this section, then the owner is responsible for the payment of the fees and charges, and the county may collect on an annual basis the fees and charges from the owner's personal property taxes or real property taxes.

(B) Further, any fees and service charges billed periodically by the county which are more than ninety (90) days delinquent on November 1 of each year may be entered on the tax records of the county as a delinquent periodic fee or service charge and may be collected by the county with personal property taxes or with real property taxes from the owner of the property in accordance with a county ordinance, except as provided in subdivision (b)(1)(B)(ii) of this section.

(C) (i) No county collector of taxes shall accept payment of any property taxes when annual fees and service charges or delinquent periodic fees and service charges appear on the county tax records of a taxpayer unless the fees and service charges due are also receipted.

(ii) These funds shall be receipted and deposited into an official account of the county collector who shall settle the account at least quarterly.

(iii) The amount of any fees and service charges collected shall then be paid to the county treasurer by the collector, less four percent (4%) to be retained by the collector. In addition, when the collector maintains a separate tax book for those fees and charges, the collector may charge an additional two dollars and fifty cents ($2.50) for collection.

(3) (A) In counties where the fees are entered on the tax records for yearly collection or if the periodic fees and service charges are more than ninety (90) days delinquent as of November 1, the fees and service charges shall be entered on the tax records of the county by the county clerk and shall be collected by the county collector with the personal property taxes or with real property taxes from the owner of the property in accordance with a county ordinance, except as provided in subdivision (b)(1)(B)(ii) of this section.

(B) The fees and service charges to be collected shall be certified to the county clerk by December 1 each year by an appropriate municipal official or the mayor.

(4) Annual fees and service charges or the delinquent periodic fees and service charges which remain unpaid after the time other property taxes are due shall constitute a lien on the real and personal property of the taxpayer which may be enforced against such property by an action in circuit court.

(c) A county may accept and disburse funds derived from federal or state grants, from private sources, or from moneys that may be appropriated from any available funds for the installation and operation of a solid waste management system or any part thereof.

(d) A county is authorized to contract for the lease or purchase of land, facilities, and vehicles for the operation of a solid waste management system either for the county or as a party to a regional solid waste authority.

(e) A county shall have the right to issue orders, to establish policies for, and to enact ordinances concerning all phases of the operation of a solid waste management system, including hours of operation, the character and kinds of wastes accepted at the disposal site, the separation of wastes according to type by those generating them prior to collection, the type of container for storage of wastes, the prohibition of the diverting of recyclable materials by persons other than the generator or collector of the recyclable materials, the prohibition of burning of wastes, the pretreatment of wastes, and such other rules as may be necessary or appropriate, so long as such orders, policies, and ordinances are consistent with, in accordance with, and not more restrictive than, those adopted by, under, or pursuant to this subchapter or any other laws, rules, regulations, or orders adopted by state law or incorporated by reference from federal law, the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission, or the regional solid waste management boards or districts, unless:

(1) There exists a fully implemented comprehensive area-wide zoning plan and corresponding laws or ordinances covering the entire county; or

(2) The county has made a request to the regional solid waste management board or district to adopt a more restrictive rule, regulation, order, or standard and no public hearing has been held within sixty (60) days or the request has not been acted upon within ninety (90) days.