17414_Authority_April_2024

municipalauthorities.org | 15 Let’s Hear It Tell us what you think, York County. This was the subject line of a recent correspondence sent out to stakeholders of the York County Solid Waste Authority. For 53 years, the Authority’s mission has been to provide all citizens of York County with an environmentally and economically efficient system of managing all of York County’s municipal solid waste. We have done so by successfully promoting waste reduction, recycling, and reuse. We rely on the primary use of waste-to-energy technology to use waste as a fuel to produce alternative energy, coupled with landfill technology to manage waste that cannot be processed in our waste-to-energy facility and the ash residue that results from that process. The Authority recognizes that a critical part of achieving a more sustainable future is incorporating community values in the design of York County’s solid waste management system. The overall goal for the Authority remains to serve the community in the way the community wants to be served. In 2023, the Authority began working with consulting firm, HDR, to help develop a stakeholder and community survey aimed at gathering feedback on various solid waste related topics. HDR began the journey by gathering information on community analytics to help identify, understand, and highlight the human geography of the project area. This analysis investigated such variables as demographics, socioeconomics, digital access, health and safety, and civic engagement. HDR was then able to gain understanding of the project area by comparing these and other variables to local, regional, and national benchmarks to identify high and low areas of each metric. By Jennifer Cristofoletti, Community Service Manager, York County Solid Waste and Refuse Authority Stakeholder Survey (Less than five minutes to complete) The York County Solid Waste Authority (YCSWA) was established to facilitate responsible solid waste management in York County. We support and promote waste reduction, reuse and recycling in a variety of ways and in several facilities. A critical part of achieving a more sustainable future system is incorporating community values in the design of York County’s solid waste management system, so we are asking for your input via this survey. Please provide your feedback to the questions below. Note: We are not a waste collection company. For this survey's purpose, solid waste refers to garbage and recyclables. Please choose stakeholder group that best describes who you are: Please Select Are you satisfied with how solid waste is managed in York County? Yes No Yes No How satisfied are you with the frequency and quality of communication from the YCSWA? Extremely Satisfied Satisfied Dissatisfied Extremely Dissatisfied In your dealings with the YCSWA, has the organization acted with openness and transparency? A strategic planning workshop was then conducted to brainstorm, collaborate, and interact with Authority employees to define a current snapshot and future direction for the Authority. The main goals of the workshop were to identify stakeholder and community groups and trends and how they view the Authority, understand stakeholder and community concerns with waste management and the challenges and opportunities faced, and to develop effective engagement strategies to inform future planning processes. Employees answered questions such as, “Who Are We and Who Are Our Customers?” and “Who Do We Want to Be?” These exercises helped employees identify and understand what current perceptions are of the Authority, where improvements need to be made and the process of beginning those improvements. In the end, the workshop was successful in helping to identify where to begin in assessing the community’s current view of the Authority and what survey questions to ask residents regarding potential future solid waste management practices. In order to hear from individuals from all aspects of the community, the Authority, along with HDR, developed two surveys: a stakeholder survey and a community survey. While stakeholders are part of the community and in turn are invited to take the community survey as well, the Authority felt it was important to hear from those stakeholders as solid waste management pertained to their role in an organization. Stakeholder groups that received the survey included: Authority customers, municipalities, county officials, legislative groups, regulatory groups, special interest groups, school groups and Authority staff and Authority board. Beginning in March 2024 and continuing through the end of 2024, the Authority will publicize a community survey aimed at all York County residents. This survey, similar to the stakeholder survey, will ask the community questions relating to current perceptions of the Authority, current services the Authority provides and the role the community would like to see from the Authority going forward. Our educational Continued on page 65.