City council approves increase of trash removal fees
– At Tuesday night’s Paso Robles City Council meeting, the council voted to approve an incremental increase to trash pick up fees. In July, the council voted unanimously to move forward the process to allow an increase in rates for solid trash services within the city. Proposition 218 mandates that any increase in fees for city services must first have a public hearing where protests can be voiced by citizens. That hearing was held at Tuesday’s meeting, and no protest was heard. Paso Robles Waste and Recycling, a local private company, provides the trash pick up services on contract with the city.
Residential trash pick-up rates are expected to rise.
Solid waste removal rates have not been raised in Paso Robles since 2008. A third party financial firm, California based R3 Consulting Group, was brought in to asses the fees and compare the rates to other jurisdictions in California.
They found that Paso Robles Waste and Recycling was behind other state jurisdictions on raising fees, and recommended an increase that would happen periodically, and cumulatively, over the next few years. The fee increases will begin on Jan. 1, 2016.
The proposed rate increases and when they would take effect. The increases are cumulative, meaning that each year would be a percentage increase of the new total.
