The request is for the City Council to authorize that a fee in the form of an assessment be placed on the 2024 tax roll to cover the cost associated with solid waste pick-up and hauling.

As you know, for some time now there has been concerns surrounding the city’s current solid waste disposal program.  Some of the concerns have provided cause to abandon the current subscription-based system for a single hauler system. The concerns include:  a significant number of residential properties not registered for service, concerning level of illegal dumping, experience of having six waste haulers vehicles on the city’s roadway system twice per week, waste haulers report a higher-than-average experience of bad debt/revenue loss because of rental population changes and the resultant loss of franchise fees.  In regard to this matter, a recommendation will be advanced to you at your meeting on September 5, 2023, to select a provider to employ service the city.

The purpose of this agenda item is to solidify a method by which the properties in the city will pay for their waste hauling service.  In this case there are two methods available to the city and they each have advantages and disadvantages attached to them. The first method is to create an assessment and place it on the tax roll. The second method is to place the amount of the charges for service on the water bill. The advantages and disadvantages of both systems are listed below for your reference.

Based largely on the fact that placing the fee on the tax rolls safeguards a much higher rate of collectible accounts I therefore recommend that you consider voting in favor of placing the annual fee for waste pick-up and hauling be placed on the 2024 tax roll in the form of an assessment.