Sweet Home Sanitation is asking the Sweet Home City Council to approve a 2.4-percent increase in rates.
To increase rates, the council must approve an ordinance. It will consider the request at its regular meeting on June 9.
Site Manager Brian Hoffman outlined the rate increase during the council’s regular meeting on May 26.
“Over the course of providing many years of service to the citizens of the City of Sweet Home, we have actively sought out new, cost-effective ways to provide a high level of service to our customers,” said Hoffman and division vice president in a letter to the council.
Hoffman outlined several highlights from 2014. Among them:
n The company was accident-free throughout its service area.
n Sweet Home Sanitation began a $1,000 scholarship for Sweet Home High School students.
n The company established its first household hazardous waste event, something it plans to hold annually.
n Sweet Home residents and businesses recycled 972 tons of recyclable materials.
n Sweet Home Sanitation donated more than $40,000 to the Sweet Home community.
“We’re trying to do smaller, more-often rate increases and stay away from those higher increases,” Hoffman said.
The rate increase is necessary to keep up with the cost of doing business, Johnson said. That includes increases in the cost of insurance, labor and utilities.
Sweet Home Sanitation has to operate more efficiently even with a rate increase like this one, which is about the rate of increase in the Consumer Price Index, Johnson said.
The increase works out to 55 cents per month for Sweet Home Sanitation’s most frequently used service, a 35-gallon trash can, for both residential and commercial customers. The current rate is $22.35 per month. The proposed rate is $22.90.
For the 90-gallon can, the proposed rate increases to $28.25 to $27.60, and the 25-gallon can increases from $11.10 to $11.35.
Commercial 90-gallon cans would increase from $30.75 to $31.50.
The company requested to be placed on the council’s agenda to begin the ordinance process for the rate increase.
Present at the meeting were councilors Jeff Goodwin, Bruce Hobbs, Greg Mahler, Dave Trask, Ryan Underwood and Mayor Jim Gourley. Marybeth Angulo was absent.
In other business, the council:
n Accepted the resignation of Jon Meier from the Parks Board. He has accepted a job in another state.
n Approved temporary street closures in front of the Sweet Home Public Library, 1100 block of 13th Avenue, for Summer Reading events. Closure times are from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on June 24 and July, 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29.
n Supported a grant application to the 2015 Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Discretionary Grant Program through the U.S. Department of Transportation for roadway, bike and pedestrian improvements to Clark Mill Road.
According to the DOT website, TIGER applicants must detail the benefits their project would deliver for five long-term outcomes: safety, economic competitiveness, state of good repair, livability and environmental sustainability.
ODOT also evaluates projects on their expected contributions to economic recovery, as well as their ability to facilitate innovation and new partnerships.