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WINCHESTER - Previously, the Select Board voted to increase the Transfer Station sticker $22 beginning on Jan. 1, 2023. At the time, they also debated another increase, of $58, starting on Jan.1, 2024. Last night, they made the second increase official.

This mainly has to do with paying down the capital costs of upgrades and repairs for the Transfer Station Town Meeting approved. Right now, residents pay $270 per sticker. In one month, that price will increase to $292. In 13 months, in January of 2024, residents will pay $350 per sticker.

The board also accepted other changes designed to increase revenue, such as increases for using the scale, to $15, and recycling TVs or other small electronic devices, to $10. They also approved increasing the sticker fee for commercial businesses $22, as well, to align with the residential increase (and another $58 in 2024 to remain in alignment with residential fees).

Many of these fee increases came via the town’s Transfer Station Working Group, tasked with helping the town increase revenue and business. Select Board member Mariano Goluboff, a member of the working group, said one of the reasons the town appointed a working group was to avoid having to raise the sticker fee $80 to $350.

One solution involves implementing a Pay as You Throw program, similar to the town’s now defunct SMART (Save Money and Reduce Trash) program. The board rescinded the SMART program while the Transfer Station undergoes several upgrades. Chair Rich Mucci said they could discuss a Pay as You Throw program at a later date.

The benefits of such a program allow residents to control how much they spend at the Transfer Station. The less trash thrown away, the lower the cost. It also encourages more recycling. Residents in the SMART program paid $50 for a Transfer Station sticker and then $1 or $2 per trash bag (depending on the size).

Mucci, before the board voted in the fee changes, said they should stick with the base plan the working group recommended, adding how it’s easier to back down from a fee increase than it is to add one on.

Goluboff said his group also looked at ways to bring in more commercial haulers. Unfortunately, some abutters of the Transfer Station worried about the additional traffic, especially if coming from large trucks.

“We need to balance bringing in more commercial and its impact to the neighborhood,” Select Board member Michael Bettencourt said. “We have some work to do and we need to figure out a better way soon.”

The town’s current trash hauling contract ends in a couple of years and prices could increase, which could lead to another increase for residents if the board can’t figure out other ways to increase revenue or bring in more commercial haulers.

One problem concerns raising fees too much and losing some commercial business. Goluboff said he didn’t want to make it too expensive. However, Mucci said backtracking would put the town in a hole.

“Pay as You Throw could reduce costs,” Goluboff said in regards to other ways to make the Transfer Station more cost efficient. “It’s a hot button issue, as people want to throw away as much as possible.”

While the board ultimately voted in the increases, Goluboff wanted to make sure any residential fee increases were simply to pay for the capital improvements and the town would look to reduce the main fee through an increase in commercial hauler usage.

Interim Town Manager Beth Rudolph admitted that even with the fee increases the Transfer Station would need to generate more revenue.

DPW Director Jay Gill, in his last Select Board meeting before he leaves, thanked residents for their patience as the town continues to work on the Transfer Station. He said they finished the first phase of paving and will work on phase two in the spring.

He also added how fortunate the town is to have a place to dispose of their trash, as some communities are having difficulty finding trucks to come pick up trash left curbside.

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