By Mary Alice Murphy
[Editor's Note: this author requests receipt of any errors in this explanation through email to
Grant County District 3 Commissioner Nancy Stephens also serves in the position of chair of the Southwest Solid Waste Authority.
So, the Beat asked her some questions. The first involved a term that kept getting used in the commission meeting on aug. 27, 2026.
What is a "tipping fee?' It is a fee assessed when a person delivers garbage to the landfill, usually by the weight of the refuse taken to the landfill.
When a person drives into a landfill, the vehicle is weighed, as it is being logged in. The weight of what is deposited in the landfill is determined by the weight of the vehicle when it drives out of the landfill.
Every county resident, at this point in time, who pays their solid waste bill to the county each month, has a monthly allowance of garbage and debris that may be put in the landfill. As this author understands it, as of Sept. 1, 2026, the allowance will change from a ton to 500 pounds a month.
The fee charged by the landfill will also increase that day. However, the county has not yet agreed to the fee the county will charge, which will be determined in a meeting sometime after the Sept. 8 and Sept. 10 county commission meetings.
On Sept. 8 and 10, public hearings will take place to gather feedback from those who wish to speak about the new Ordinance, which will be discussed both days and approved or not on Sept. 10.
Ordinance No. 0-26-02 will repeal the ordinance from 1999 and enact a new ordinance "in order to protect the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of Grant County," as the county is delegated, due to sate statute to "...establish and maintain, manage and supervise a system of storage, collection and disposal of all refuse."
For those reluctant to pay these fees that will be assessed, part of the ordinance stipulates that the county will "establish fees assessed for delinquent payments and/or failure to make payments, and to provide a means of collecting associated court costs and attorneys' fees in the lawful pursuit of collection of delinquent payments."
[You may download and read the ordinance at https://grantcountynm.gov/355/2026-Ordinances]
Those residents who do not pay the monthly fee on a regular basis, after the amount has built up to a certain figure (which this author was unable to find out how much that is), the property has a lien placed on it. As the lien continues to build with no payments, the property may be put up for auction. If a person wants to sell that property, they will have to pay the lien.
Note that the ordinance does NOT set the fees. That will be done through a resolution to be approved by the commissioners at a meeting to be held at some point AFTER the approval of the ordinance.
How does the landfill take in revenue to continue its services? It takes in not only the tipping fees, but also it receives revenue from the county through the assessed fees and through an environmental enterprise fund, which gathers a portion of every gross receipts tax paid in the county, as well as assessments from the municipalities.
Why is the rate going up, anticipated to be in multiples of the monthly $5.25 that has been paid by county residents, without change in 27 years?
Seemingly, the county has been subsidizing the landfill and its services for many years, without anyone noticing or protesting. District 1 Commissioner and Chair Chris Ponce apologized at a recent commission meeting for the fact that the commission had not kept up with what was happening at the landfill. Not only the county, but also the municipalities pay a portion of the landfill fees.
According to Stephens, when she was appointed to the Solid Waste Authority soon after her term began in 2025, the authority was in bad shape, having lost most of its staff and was out of compliance with some state statutes. She has been working to help rebuild the staff and bring the landfill into compliance.
As for the anticipated increase in fees, the Solid Waste Authority has recommended they should be $30 a month to pay for needed improvements. The landfill plans to remain open, although the financial threats brought it to the brink of closing. It is also running out of space. One recommended addition to the gathering of garbage would include compactors set in a several places around the county, with the one of first ones planned for Pinos Altos. Residents may place only their household waste, no furniture or yard debris is allowed. The compacting of waste will also provide a benefit to the landfill as the compacted refuse will take up less room, allowing the cells to last longer without filling up and requiring the very expensive (at least a million or so dollars of cost) development of new cells.
The compactors will notify the landfill when they are 80 percent full, so that they can be emptied and replaced.
Stephens said she had been asked if the compactors would replace the transfer stations. She was assured that the transfer stations would remain in addition to the compactors.
Another question that had been raised was about the agreement that the commissioners approved at their regular meeting on Aug. 27, 2026. County Manager Charlene Webb explained at the meeting that it had nothing to do the fees or the ordinance, but was rather a memorandum of understanding with the Southwest Solid Wast Authority that would provide protection to the county.
This solid waste issue will continue for the next month or more, with the next step coming at the September 8 and 10 meetings where public hearings will take place to hear input from, residents on the ordinance.
The commissioners emphasized several times at the Aug. 27, meeting that the rates will not be determined by the ordinance, although the ordinance requires the county at a future meeting to set the new rates through a resolution. Stephens also said that the authority has made the decision to raise the fees on an annual basis using the consumer price index (CPI).
Commissioner Nancy Stephens encourages constituents to call her or email her with their concerns not only on this issue, but anything concerning the county. Her contact information can be found at https://grantcountynm.gov/m/directory/employee?eid=77
[Another question you may have, as this author had when she first started reporting on county meetings in 2001, is what is the difference between an ordinance and a resolution. Basically, an ordinance is law and cannot be changed without a long process of notice of intent to pass the ordinance at least 30 days before public hearings to hear from the residents their feedback on the ordinance and then the approval. However, a resolution sets a policy that can more easily be changed requiring only the action of the Commission to approve an amendment and/or the approval of a replacement resolution.]
