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The company is seeking a 3.4 percent rate increase to reflect increases in the consumer price index, under terms it said are outlined in a contract scheduled to run through 2012.
Waste Connections said county supervisors, citing a challenging economic environment, instituted only a token 0.1 percent rate increase in late June.
"Over the next several years, this means more than a million dollars to us," Ron Mittelstaedt, Waste Connections' chairman and CEO, said Monday.
The company said it filed an administrative claim Monday with the county, a required step before taking any legal action.
By law, county supervisors have 45 days to accept or reject the claim, or simply to let the deadline pass.
In a letter dated Monday and addressed to the El Dorado supervisors, Mittelstaedt said Waste Connections intends to "exercise its right to file a lawsuit and enforce terms of the contract" if the county does not accept its claim.
The letter also says the company hopes the county "reconsiders its current position."
County spokesman Mike Applegarth acknowledged that the county "did receive the letter (Monday). At this point, it's so fresh that we're not going to comment on it."
For residential customers, Waste Connections said a 3.4 percent rate increase translates to about 45 cents to 85 cents a month. Typically, individual customers have one or two 32-gallon trash cans.
Waste Connections did not disclose the total value of the original contract, which dates back to 1997. Mittelstaedt said Waste Connections has not experienced problems with the county on previous CPI adjustments.
El Dorado officials have been attempting to rein in costs in several areas, including waste disposal.
In mid-June, supervisors unanimously declared their intent to do away with the fuel surcharge that El Dorado Disposal Service -- a wholly owned subsidiary of Waste Connections -- has passed along to customers since 2006. That was the year Waste Connections purchased El Dorado Disposal Service, which provides garbage collection and recycling services for much of El Dorado County's western slope.
County officials contended the fuel surcharge was not needed because fluctuations in diesel prices (the primary fuel for Waste Connections' trucks) are reflected in annual garbage collection rate adjustments.
In late June, Waste Connections said El Dorado County supervisors approved a small fraction of the consumer price index called for in the contract. The company said CPI adjustments help offset increases in its operating expenses.
"Our position is that a contract can be a benefit or a detriment to either side, depending on economic conditions. But either way, you honor the contract," Mittelstaedt said. "(El Dorado) certainly didn't change things when we were paying more than $5 (a gallon) for diesel fuel (last year)."
The company noted that other nearby jurisdictions, including Placerville, have approved the company's CPI adjustments.
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Call The Bee's Mark Glover, (916) 321-1184.
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