Town manager, Dan Foster recently addressed the issue of the five-fold increase of Tri-Community Landfill's “dump stickers.” “I've had one person come in to talk to me about this. I have not had any phone calls and I couldn't have been more explicit in the letter- please call me if you have concerns, or whatever.”

In a brochure sent out a few months back, the town office was very explicit about the financial situation. “This is a serious problem for our community, people need to tell us what they want. It was clear to me, based on the information I received, that people did not want their taxes raised.”

Foster explained that the increase in user fees at the landfill was part of a strategy to keep property taxes in check where those who use services pay for them, as opposed to spreading that burden over the entire taxpaying base. “There was a variety of things that we did. This user fee is one of those things as part of that mix to ensure that taxes did not get raised.”

There were some concerns from users of the landfill about the increase to $50. “It's not the $50 as much as it is the jump from $10 to $50. I think that was more of an issue than anything else. I can understand the 'sticker shock' to that. In reality, it's nothing compared to what Presque Isle's used to be - they were $125.”

Foster said Fort Fairfield is in a very unique position where they have an opportunity to be able to generate revenue that municipalities don't normally have. “This is a way of looking at how we can continue to provide services in our community that people expect us to provide without adversely impacting the taxpayers.”

Currently Tri-Community Landfill, which is jointly owned by Caribou, Limestone and Fort Fairfield, enjoys some of the lowest tipping fees in the area.