Cedar Rapids, Iowa-Linn County’s board of supervisors isn’t showing much enthusiasm for a fee on agricultural and other businesses that store hazardous materials to help pay expenses for the county’s HAZMAT team. Emergency Management Agency Coordinator Mike Goldberg suggested the fee at a recent county budget meeting to make up for a HAZMAT shortfall. “Information was being exchanged during the budgeting process and we were seeking ways to provide funding for the HAZMAT team as an alternative to using tax proceeds,” Goldberg explained. “It was an alternative funding option that was presented.” He said Cedar Rapids funds its HAZMAT that way, and adopting a similar fee in the county would net an extra $102,000 per year – or more than enough to cover the HAZMAT shortfall, estimated at about $36,000. It would be imposed on businesses storing dangerous chemicals, including anhydrous ammonia, chlorine, and sulfuric acid. According to press reports, the city of Cedar Rapids receives about $250,000 per year in chemical storage fees, which it has been charging for two years. The fees are based on the chemicals’ volume, as well as the danger and difficulty of their handling, Mark English, assistant chief of operations for the Cedar Rapids Fire Department, told the press. Supervisors responded that in a tight budget year they are open to the idea of a new fee, but that the Cedar Rapids fees were exorbitant. “Some of them seemed rather high for small town, small businesses,” Supervisor Ben Rogers said. As examples, Innovative Ag Service in Central City would have to pay $3,200 per year, and F.J. Krob & Co., a grain elevator in Walker, would have to pay $1,600 per year.
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