A higher tipping fee at the Walker Mountain Landfill could be closer to reality following tonight’s Rome City Commission meeting.

The board will look at the recommendation from the joint city-county Solid Waste Commission that rates at the publicly-owned facility be raised 2.5 percent beginning April 1.

Caucus is set to start at 5 p.m. in the Sam King Room at City Hall, 601 Broad St., with the commission’s regular meeting beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the council chambers. The public is invited to attend both sessions.

The hike in fees is seen as a way to help cover the projected long-term expenses of the landfill, including post-closure costs that will need to be available to monitor the site 30 years after it closes.

Capacity is expected to be reached in 2031.

The Floyd County Commission is expected to take up the recommendation at its regular meeting Tuesday afternoon.

Under the new fee structure, preferred haulers who bring in more than 1,300 tons a month could see a hike from $25.65 a ton to $26.30 a ton.

Rates for other commercial and residential customers also would rise.

For example, the flat rate for dumping as much as 100 pounds would increase to $4.95 from $4.80, and loads as large as 250 pounds would go to $9.75 from $9.50.

Rome Public Services Director Kirk Milam has proposed that fees be increased by the same amount in each of the next five years.

The City Commission will also consider the request by Rome’s Community Development Committee to commit $13,500 a year for a five-year period in support of the Overlook at Fairgrounds development proposed by the Northwest Georgia Housing Authority.

The 32-unit single-family residential complex planned for the former site of the old Fairgrounds public housing complex on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard would get additional federal funding if the city agrees to a financial commitment.

A first reading will also be held of an amendment to the Unified Land Development Code that would allow local restaurants to brew their own beer and farm distilleries or wineries to open for business.

The changes were recommended by the Rome-Floyd County Planning Commission last week and must get approval from the elected city and county boards.

Federal and state licenses would still be required and all related standards would have to be followed.

Click to see a Commission agenda.