Lincoln County officials are taking steps to collect more than$171,000 in unpaid solid waste fees from county residents.

Officials say the collection action is needed because somepeople will not pay and there is no strong enforcement tool to makethem pay.

People who don’t pay are not supposed to be able to purchase acar tag; however, officials acknowledge there are ways around that.Paychecks of people who have delinquent accounts can also begarnished, but the county must know where someone works to be ableto do that.

The amount of delinquent accounts is substantial, and the countybeing able to recoup it could go toward keeping garbage rates fromrising. Raising rates on those who do pay would make the garbagefee situation even more unfair.

Another aspect of the delinquent amount involves a time element.Supervisors and other county officials have far more importantissues to address – road and bridge improvements, economicdevelopment efforts and even the West Nile virus threat – than totry to collect from someone who won’t pay a $9 a month garbagebill.

While we would encourage state lawmakers to revisit solid wastefee legislation to provide better collection enforcementprocedures, we would admonish citizens to just go ahead and pay thegarbage bills. Garbage pick up is a service you are receiving, it’sa fair price (with a $12 discount if you pay a year in advance),and it’s not fair for some to pay the bill for all.