BOND TICKER : Trash Fee Hike of 54% Approved : Recovery: Supervisors say the county landfills, which run at a loss, must become self-sufficient.

The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a 54% hike in trash dumping fees at its three landfills in a move that is expected to add $24 a year to the average household’s trash bill.

Starting in July, landfill gate fees will increase from $22.75 to $35 per ton.

County officials said the fee increase is needed because the landfills now operate at a deficit. Officials said that in light of the bankruptcy, the landfills must become self-sufficient.

The fee hike has been criticized by some trash haulers, who say they will have to pass the increased costs along to customers.

The county said the fee could be reduced to $30 a ton if a plan to import as much as 6,000 tons of trash a day from neighboring counties moves forward.

Officials to Sound Out Firms on Running Jails

Supervisors on Tuesday asked county officials to request details from firms interested in running or providing services to the county’s jails, juvenile detention facilities and children’s services centers.

The supervisors said soliciting the information would help the county decide whether to turn over its detention facilities to private operators as a cost-savings measure.

County officials are expected to return to the Board of Supervisors on June 6 with a draft of a letter seeking data from private firms about the costs, legal barriers and liability issues associated with a privatization of jail services. The letter would also seek information about the background of potential service providers.

The Board of Supervisors is expected to decide whether to seek the data at its June 6 meeting.

Compiled by Times correspondent Shelby Grad with staff writer Matt Lait.