Trash fees to triple for S. Tucson homeowners

Starting on Tuesday, South Tucson public works employees will begin picking up trash with surplus garbage trucks on loan from the City of Tucson.

The new job duties for the South Tucson employees are only temporary, says Interim City Manager Veronica Moreno, noting the city still intends to hire a private contractor by the end of the year to handle garbage collection.

With the city providing trash collection to an estimated 12,000 residential customers, trash bills are expected to roughly triple in cost.

The city’s finance director, Lourdes Aguirre, estimates the once-a- week pickup service will cost between $10 and $13 a month. The figure is a guess, based on what’s needed to cover the entire cost of trash collection.

But the charge will be “only enough to break even,” she said.

Previously, owner-occupied homes were paying about $4 a month, while Waste Management was charging rental units $17 a month.

Waste Management severed its contract with South Tucson on Sept. 1, claiming in court papers that the city owed at least $300,000.

The city also will not be offering residential trash service to some apartment complexes with more than five units, requiring them to independently get contracts with private trash collection firms.

The contract with Waste Management was signed in November 2011.

Angel Lopez, South Tucson’s public works director, said the equipment is familiar to him and some of his employees. He said when the city still offered the service, they used similar equipment.

If he had to climb in a truck tomorrow, he said, it would be easy.

The Tucson City Council is expected to vote next week on a temporary contract to lease the surplus trucks to South Tucson, giving the 1.2-square-mile city enough time to follow state procurement rules on hiring a private contractor.