City garbage pickup fees will be on the rise, after the City Council voted 5-0 Tuesday to implement a new pickup system where residents are charged by how much trash they throw out.
Even if you throw out less garbage, your bill will go up, from $14.50 to $15 a month for the smallest garbage can, which is about half the size of the current 95-gallon can.
Those who stick with the current size will see their bills jump to $16.75 a month. Those who have a shared-use container in their alley or chose a 65-gallon container would pay $16 a month.
The council didn't formally vote for the new rates, but all gave approval for the plan to come back in June for final approval, on time to take effect at the beginning of the new fiscal year on July 1. Councilwoman Shirley Scott was absent.
Also included in the council's approval is a 78-cent monthly fee on Tucson Water bills to help the city pay for groundwater protection at 23 landfill sites where the city is responsible for protecting the groundwater.
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The council also took the first formal steps to increase water fees, which would take effect on July 5th.
Average rates for single-family residential customers will rise 10 percent, multifamily customers will rise 12 percent, commercial would rise 11 percent, industrial would rise 12 percent and water for construction would rise nearly 12.5 percent. Rates for those who use less water will go up less than those that use more water.
Several council members and Environmental Services Director Andrew Quigley noted Tucson still has garbage rates in the lower third of all cities in Arizona.
Councilwoman Karin Uhlich asked if the city could cut back garbage service to less than once a week as a way to lower rates. Quigley said state law stipulates garbage must be picked up at least once a week.
Quigley said the rate increases would amount to $1.28 a month for the lowest increase including the new groundwater fee, and the highest increase would amount to $3.03 a month for the highest rate increase.
About 99,000 residential customers will be eligible to downsize to a 65-gallon or 48-gallon can, Quigley said, out of a total of 139,000 customers.
Quigley said the current garbage trucks are able to pick up all sizes of garbage cans - 48, 65, 95, and 300 gallons - so they won't need to be upgraded.
As for the cost of buying the new cans, Quigley said he didn't believe that would be a huge problem because the city buys an estimated 15,000 annually anyway, so it will just buy new sized cans rather than replacing existing ones.
One problem, he said, might be to get all the new cans out to people at once. However, Quigley said the city would adjust the rate of customers who request smaller cans right away, regardless of how long it might take to get them the new cans.
In other business, the council voted 5-0 to create new law to allow street fairs to ban dogs at their events. The ban, which needs to come back for final approval, does not mandate that street fairs ban dogs, but instead allows those who want to ban dogs the ability to do it. Assistance dogs would be exempted.
Contact reporter Rob O'Dell at 573-4346 or rodell@azstarnet.com
