The City of Oxnard, California, provides solid waste collection service to 40,000 residential and commercial customers and operates the Del Norte Regional Recycling and Transfer Station. On an annual basis, the City’s customers generate over 295,000 tons of municipal solid waste. In addition, the City processes approximately 24,900 tons of comingled recyclables and 22,000 tons of organic materials (green waste and food waste) at the Del Norte Regional Recycling and Transfer Station.
Raftelis has conducted two studies on behalf of the City’s Environmental Resource Division: a solid waste impact fee study, and a solid waste cost of service study. The scope of the impact fee study was to evaluate the feasibility of implementing an impact fee to recover both the cost of the collection vehicles and waste processing facilities. The results of the study were not implemented, however serve as a basis for further study. The City anticipates possibly updating the study in a future engagement to present findings to City council.
Most recently, Raftelis completed a cost of service analysis for the City evaluating their collection and disposal rate structure for residential, commercial, and industrial customers. With the City having not conducted a cost of service analysis in over ten years, while subject to local, state, and federal mandates regarding solid waste handling (e.g., S.B. 1383), and rising costs, they were faced with funding deficiencies. Raftelis developed a financial plan to ensure adequate reserves over the five-year planning period and developed equitable rates for the City’s customers. The City is in the process of taking the financial plan to Council to be adopted for Fiscal Year 2025.
