CULVER CITY : City Reduces Trash Collection Fees

The notion that the cost of city services seems to go in only one direction--up, of course--does not hold true in Culver City, where residents will pay less to have their trash picked up this year.

The City Council set the cost of residential pickup last week at $17.61 a month, down from $18.59 last year. Businesses will pay $17.22 a month, down from $18.59 last year, said Mark Gauerke, city resource and sanitation manager.

Some garbage fees remain the same--such as the $6 monthly rate the city charges for a device that locks refuse bins. The only costs that have gone up are for city crews pulling out bins, such as those in apartment buildings.

Gauerke credits revenues from the city’s recycling program for the drop in rates. The city expects to get $175,000 more from recycling than it had estimated--$225,000 instead of $50,000. “The [resale] price of corrugated cardboard skyrocketed,” he said.