Contract Would Curb Garbage Pickup Fees

Residents would pay less for garbage pickup and the city would get a $1.38 million windfall annually under a 12-year trash hauling proposal presented to the City Council this week.

The council Thursday reviewed the proposal, which is part of the $120-million budget the city is considering for fiscal 1996-97. A vote on the budget is likely to be taken next month.

Great Western Reclamation, the city’s current trash hauler, stands to take in about $20 million a year from the contract, said Teri Cable, the city’s administrative services manager.

To cover administrative costs, the city had asked for a 1% increase, which would add about 15 cents a month for the typical residential curbside trash bill of $14.99.

But because the county recently lowered its landfill fee to $27 a ton from $35, residents could see a decline of nearly $1 a month in their trash bills, officials said.

Those rates are expected to remain steady until 2001 unless landfill fees increase. Also, if the rate of inflation exceeds 4%, trash bills could increase by as much as 3%, according to the proposal.

Trash bills for most businesses would drop to $70.98 a month in the new contract’s first year, down from $73.57.

Each residence would have three trash containers: for green waste, recyclable materials and all other trash. Because garbage would thus be pre-sorted, Great Western would pay less to two sorting facilities and pass on the savings, projected at $1.38 million a year, to the city.