Union County approves increasing garbage collection and environmental health services fees
By Garrett Christensen on Thursday, October 22nd, 2026 in Northeastern Oregon News Northeastern Oregon Top Stories
UNION COUNTY – Residents and business owners in Union County should prepare for increased service fees for both garbage collection and environmental health services for restaurants beginning in 2027. During a regular commission meeting on Wednesday, October 21, the Union County Board of Commissioners officially passed resolutions 2026-13, 2026-14 and 2026-15, which approved service fee increases for both Waste Pro and the Center for Human Development.
Resolutions 2026-14 and 15 specifically applied to Waste Pro and authorized a 3.7% service rate increase for on-route collection services and the solid waste district transfer site.
According to discussion from Darin Larvik with Waste Pro, along with a letter to commissioners (a copy of which was provided to Elkhorn Media Group) the reason for the fee increase is to compensate for increasing costs across the industry. The largest contributing factors were equipment replacement and upkeep, rising insurance costs, rising labor costs, increasing costs of operating the baler and compactor at the transfer station, fees associated with the Recycling Modernization Act, rising fuel costs, and the mandatory 5% annual fee increase with the Baker Sanitary landfill, per the county’s 10-year contract with the facility.
In practice, according to Larvik, this cost increase will equate to a roughly $.35 cent increase per can dumped, or cent $.70 centers per month for typical residential customers in unincorporated areas of Union County. The monthly increase requested in 2025 was around $.20 cents per dump.
During the meeting, commissioners generally expressed sympathy with Waste Pro due to the rising costs of operations and providing an essential service, but also raised concerns about additional costs to low-income households. While the county and Waste Pro have shifted to a doctrine of more frequent and incremental fee increases to make adjustment easier for those on a limited budget, there is still a concern that some residents may be priced out of services.
Commissioner Jake Seavert in particular raised concerns that increasing costs may eventually lead to residents canceling garbage collection services and resorting to illegal dumping. Though inquiring if Waste Pro could postpone the increase, Larvik replied that this would result in deferred maintenance and larger cost increases later, despite efforts to reduce costs by limiting insurance on some assets such as the transfer station.
Ultimately, both resolutions were approved by commissioners, with Paul Anderes and Matt Scarfo voting yes and Jake Seavert voting no.
Meanwhile, Resolution 2026-13 specifically approved a 6% Environmental Health Services fee increase. For those unfamiliar, the Center for Human Development provides Environmental Health Services under contract for Union County, such as inspections for restaurants.
During the meeting, and in another letter sent to commissioners (copy provided to media) CHD Director of Public Health Carrie Brogoitti, along with CHD Director of Finance Celest Tate, noted the fee increase is to adjust for increasing expenses to maintain services, not to generate profit. Notable increases include a 3.5% Cost of Living Adjustment for 2026/27, fuel cost increases, as well as a 65% increase in state fees over the last two years. CHD estimates that the 6% local increase will bring in around $4,050 to the program to help offset costs.
With the increase, license fees for full-service restaurants will range from $611.00 for those with 0-15 seats, up to $877.00 for those with over 150 seats. Other examples include vending machine fees ranging from $104.00 for 1-10 machines and up to $1,956.00 for over 1,500 machines, full service and mobile unit restaurant initial construction being set at $424.00, and licensing fees for temporary restaurants ranging from $59.00 for single day events to $87.00 for multi-day events, intermittent operations, and seasonal operations.
It should also be noted that the State of Oregon is in the process of developing increased marker fees as current fees do not cover the cost of operations in Wallowa and Curry Counties. The new Union County service fees would be 15% over current state marker fees, but 36% below the new marker fees.
For this resolution, Commissioner Scarfo recused himself from discussion and voting while Commissioner Anderes declared a potential conflict of interest due to him and his wife having previously invested in a local restaurant but still participated in discussion and voting. Discussion was brief, with Anderes noting it’s unlikely that the county could provide these services any cheaper, while Commissioner Seavert referred to the entire process as an “unfunded mandate” due to the state licensing requirements coinciding with increasing state fees.
Following discussion, the resolution was passed by Commissioners Anderes and Seavert.
