Lawndale

The crisis over residential trash collection here ended this week when the City Council gave Removal Inc. a 95-cent monthly rate increase and established a formula for future annual increases based on the consumer price index for the Los Angeles-Long Beach area and increases in dump fees.

Company attorney Kevin Stapleton called the settlement an “agreeable compromise” but said it does not give Removal the profit margin it is entitled to.

The company, which picks up 75% of Lawndale’s residential trash, had threatened to terminate its contract unless it received more than the 71 cents initially offered by the city. Proposals ranging from 71 cents to 95 cents failed to win council approval in December.

The compromise settlement was approved 3 to 1, with Councilman Dan McKenzie saying he was opposed because a 10% senior citizen discount applies only to owner-occupants and not tenants. The staff said a tenant discount would not be feasible because trash bills are sent to and paid by property owners.

The new rate will appear on bills mailed this week, bringing the monthly charge per dwelling unit to $6.92 for two pickups a week.