A. Notwithstanding any other provision of county ordinance to the contrary or any contrary provision in the license issued by the county pertaining to a refuse disposal company authorized to provide solid waste disposal service in Sierra County, any such licensed hauler (“hauler”) shall, to the extent that the county has regulated the rates to be charged for the collection and disposal of solid waste, be allowed to adjust the rates charged to their residential and commercial customers, within the unincorporated territory of the county, so as to pass on to their customers any increase or decrease in the fees at the landfill and/or at any transfer stations provided by the county, without securing the separate approval of the Board of Supervisors through a rate review application and hearing. Within 15 days of the date of adoption of any decrease in the fees charged by the county, any such franchised or licensed hauler shall change their rates to pass on to their customers the full amount of any such decrease, beginning on the first day that any such reduction was in effect. In the event that a licensed hauler adjusts its rates (or is required hereunder to adjust its rates due to a reduction in the fees charged by the county), the hauler shall notify the county by sending a written statement setting forth the amount of the rate adjustment, together with full and proper justification and documentation for same (clearly showing how the rate adjustment was calculated), to the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors and to the Director of the Department of Public Works. This notification shall be presented to the county no less than 10 days prior to the effective date of any such increase in the hauler’s rate and no later than 15 days after the county reduces rates charged to the hauler (thereby requiring a decrease in the hauler’s rates to its customers). Following receipt of any such notification, and upon the recommendation of the Director of the Department of Public Works, or upon its own initiative, the Board may, but shall not be required to, schedule a public hearing to review the new rates of the hauler. The Board’s action in determining to set a public hearing shall be at the Board’s sole discretion. The public hearing shall be scheduled no sooner than 15 days following the mailing of notification thereof to the hauler by the Clerk of the Board. At the time that the Board elects to call such a public hearing, the Board may direct the immediate suspension of the rate increase, in whole or in part, if the Director attests to the Board that the rate increase is either unwarranted or is in excess of that permitted by this subsection (as to any class of customers). The hauler shall attend any such hearing and shall within 10 days of the hearing provide to the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors and to the Department of Sanitation all relevant evidence used to calculate the rate increase or decrease. At the conclusion of the public hearing the Board may approve, disapprove, or modify any such rate increase or decrease, which action shall be binding on the hauler. If the Board sustains the rate increase, either in whole or in part, and the Board had previously ordered the suspension of any increase, the Board may allow the increase to be retroactive to the date that it was originally to go into effect. If the Board disapproves or modifies the rate adjustment, it shall order the hauler to refund any payments made to it by its customers that are above the amounts of the adjustments as approved by the Board. Within 30 days of the date of the Board’s decision, the hauler shall make full refunds as directed by the Board, or in any event, necessary to prevent the hauler from being unjustly enriched through the collection of fees or charges that were not commensurate with the fees paid to the county by the hauler.

B. It is the intent of the Board of Supervisors in the adoption of this section to allow the licensed haulers to be treated fairly and equitably by the county by allowing the haulers to promptly pass on to their customers the fees which the haulers have to pay to the county for refuse (waste) disposal, and nothing herein is intended to allow or provide any such hauler with any increase in income or profitability. (Ord. 879, eff. 3/5/99; Ord. 852, eff. 7/17/97)