Council Considers Trash Rate Hike

Due to the whims of inflation and landfill fees, garbage collection rates in Moorpark may go up in the new year.

The City Council tonight will discuss raising trash fees for homes and businesses as part of the city’s annual review of garbage collection rates.

This year, city staff members have recommended a rate hike to cover increases in landfill fees and the consumer price index, which measures inflation. The monthly base rate for single-family homes would climb from $15.10 to $17.12, while eligible seniors would pay $13.80. That base rate covers disposal of as many as four 45-gallon cans of trash each week.

Prices for businesses would also rise. For example, a business that fills just one 1.5-cubic-yard bin of trash each week would see the monthly fee climb from $83.20 to $86.30.

But a business that needs the same size bin emptied every day would pay $468.40 under the new rate schedule, as opposed to $457.58 now.

All proposed changes were worked out according to a formula spelled out in the city’s contracts with its garbage haulers. If the council approves the increases, they would go into effect Jan. 1.