BY LUCY WALLACE/MANAGING EDITOR
lucy.wallace@tidewaternews.com

COURTLAND—Southampton County Treasurer David Britt would like to remind county residents of the deadline for the solid waste management fee.

The Southampton Board of Supervisors approved the $200 household fee in the fiscal year budget, but

exemptions were made for homes occupied by residents 65 or older, or who are totally disabled; have a combined annual household income of less than $30,000; and a combined financial worth of less than $80,000.

Other exemptions include households located in multi-family apartment complexes that contract for private refuse collection including Stevens Woods apartments in Courtland and Brookside Square apartments in Boykins; and households which are unoccupied for at least 180 consecutive calendar days.

Britt said the original deadline of Dec. 5 of last year to pay the fee or Sept. 1 to apply for an exemption, was extended. The due date to apply for relief has passed, as it was in January. However, the deadline to pay the $200 is set for March 31.

“I just want to remind everyone that the solid waste fee is coming due the 31st of March,” said Britt.

He explained that since that date falls on a Sunday, residents would have until Monday, April 1, to pay the fee in person.

If mailing in your fee, Britt asks that residents make sure the postmark on the envelope shows Saturday’s date of March 30.

If paying the fee in person, Britt says residents can come to the Southampton County Treasurer’s office in the county administration building in Courtland.

When the fee was imposed, it was noted by county officials that the cost for collecting, handling and disposing garbage would equal $1.8 million for fiscal year 2013. Broken down, this equals to an annual expense of more than $250 per household, covering 7,473 housing units.

The new fee is expected to generate $1.34 million annually, which will cover 71.6 percent of the cost to mange the county’s refuse. If the fee is unpaid, the County Treasurer has the power and duty to collect the fees and after the due date, a 10 percent penalty is added and interest begins to accrue at 10 percent annually.