The Sweet Home City Council approved a 6 percent increase in Sweet Home Sanitation’s garbage service rates last week.
The council held the first and second readings of an ordinance that makes the rate adjustment at its meeting on March 26. The third reading will be held on April 9 making the new rates effective on May 9.
Sweet Home Sanitation requested an increase of 6 percent to its revenues. The actual increases vary throughout its rate structure. Customers can expect to see the rate increase on their May-June bills.
“We believe that an increase of 6 percent to overall revenues is required to fully support the ongoing operations at its current level,” District Manager Scott Weld said. The increase will cover increasing operational costs and also considers a 7.5 percent increase in landfill tipping fees announced to begin on July 1 at Coffin Butte Landfill near Corvallis.
“We also have some new goals that would add value to our customers’ level of service and help us move forward to meeting the state-mandated 50 percent recovery,” Weld said. Linn County reached a 37 percent recovery rate last year. The rate increase will help pay for these changes.
Since 2000, Sweet Home Sanitation’s costs have increased and there was a reduction in business in 2001, Weld said. The company is in the process of closing its books for 2001 and evaluating profitability, but “we believe 6 percent is the minimum we will need in the future.
“We intend to report back to you next year on our 2001-02 results and possibly true up the rates — to a much smaller degree. From then forward, we will work to be proactive in reviewing our rates regularly and reporting to you.”
The proposal would maintain the rate for a 20-gallon cans once a week at $9.90 per month. A 32-gallon can once a week will increase from $16.95 to $17.97 per month. The call-in charge without recycling will increase from $7.64 to $8.10 and with recycling from $11.49 to $12.18. For a 35-gallon cart, the rate increases from $18.30 to $19.40. For a 90-gallon cart, it increases from $22.05 to $.2337.
Weld emphasized that Sweet Home Sanitation, in keeping with the city’s approach to sewer and water rates, would make no increase on the 20-gallon cans. That would help protect persons on fixed incomes and avid recyclers from the rate increase.
Keeping the 20 gallon rate unchanged is a “huge aspect to the whole thing,” Weld said.
Rates for commercial containers, temporary containers and drop box services also will increase.
The rate increase will help fund the following goals:
Increase promotion and education to bi-monthly instead of quarterly.
Increase outside youth education program to a monthly program.
Begin planning and target January 2003 for a new “co-mingle” program for residential curbside collection. Co-mingling will mean customers only need to separate glass bottles out for recycling.
Interface with a local website for solid waste and recycling rates and information online.
“When we were before the council three years ago with the rate increase request, we had three program-related goals that contributed to a large percentage of the increase,” Weld said. “I am excited to report back to council that all of those goals were met.”
Those goals included the following:
Increased recycling materials accepted at the curb to include waste paper and mixed plastics.
Implementation of a a bi-weekly yard debris program. Since 1999, when Sweet Home Sanitation started the program, it has since removed more than 1,200 tons of yard debris from the landfill system and diverted them to composting operations.
An expanded office paper program to include an outside container for centralized collection and increased education and promotion.
At the meeting, Weld reported Sweet Home Sanitation’s budget for 2000 and 2002. The company had $961,943 in revenues in 2000 and anticipates $1,001,806 in revenue in 2002 after the rate increase.