Facebook / City of San Antonio Solid Waste Management
A solid waste management side loader parks in front of one of the San Antonio Missions.
The possible fee hike is due to growing personnel, landfill, equipment and fuel expenses, according to city officials. If the adjustment is approved by city council in mid-September, residents will see a monthly increase ranging from $19 to almost $35, depending on the size of their trash cart.
If the increase takes place, it will be first time the city has raised trash fees in four years.
The city has already used millions of dollars from the solid-waste fund to prevent the need for a fee increase. However, due to unavoidable costs, the increase is now necessary, officials said.
"In order not to raise the collection fee [since 2019], especially during the pandemic, despite rising costs in salaries, trucks and truck parts, fuel and disposal fees, the Solid Waste Department used the funds it had in reserve," Solid Waste Management spokesperson Marcus Lee said in an email to the Current.
However, residents can shave costs by decreasing the size of their disposal carts, Lee said.
"If a customer went from the large brown cart to the medium, they would save $125.88 annually. If they went from the large to the small, they would save $185.88," he added.
The proposed fee increase comes as San Antonio’s fiscal year 2024 budget is being considered by council. That budget now sits at $3.7 billion, and Solid Waste Management’s share would see an increase of just over 5% to $177 million.
As part of the budget, all non-uniformed city employees will receive a 4% wage increase, including solid waste employees.
Council is slated to vote on the proposed budget on Sept. 14.
Subscribe to SA Current newsletters.
Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter| Or sign up for our RSS Feed
