Dropping off brush and other yard waste is about to get a little more pricey.
On Thursday the City Council approved measures that would add new fees to drop off yard waste and brush at the city’s facilities.
Despite neighborhood opposition, council members now are looking at charging $25 per vehicle dropping off yard waste. Residents can still drop off up to five bags of yard waste for free. After that, though, the charge per carload applies. A single household will be limited to only two carloads of brush for an entire year.
There was some opposition by council members who said that new fees could lead to more illegal dumping throughout the city — including parts of Northeast such as Cliff Drive, where illegal dumping is a regular nuisance.
“I am concerned that even though we have allowed five bags and two truckloads for free, we may see instances of illegal dumping,” Councilman John Sharp said. “And that is going to cost us more.”
The fee plan is part of the city’s ongoing efforts to find new revenue after a rough budget battle that left many departments facing shortfalls. Council members said the new fees would help keep the city brush site funded and would allow the city to continue to offer the service.
Already the city is expected to suspend its regular bulky item pick up in the next month as another measure to save money. In the past, city trash trucks would roll though neighborhoods picking up bulky items each month. Now, under the current budget, that service will only be done by appointment only.
Since 2003, following an ordinance sponsored by Councilwoman Deb Hermann, dropping off brush could be done free of charge and residents were not limited to the amount they could bring.
The fees will not begin until the city can come up with a viable way to collect the fees and keep track the yard waste that comes into the drop off site each Saturday. Councilman Russ Johnson also said the ordinance might be back before the council after the city’s legal department checks over the wording of the final ordinance.
