Greenwood residents will pay a 50 cent increase on their monthly bills for the next three years for curbside trash service under a proposal from the city.
The city council is being asked to approve the rate hike after negotiating a new contract with Best Way, which provides trash service to nearly 16,000 residential customers in the city.
By 2019, residents will pay $1.50 more per month than they do now, if the increase is approved. The increase will come incrementally, with a 50-cent hike in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
The increase is due, in part, to the city’s new contract with Best Way. That contract calls for a one-time 57-cent monthly hike per customer. The city will use the additional money it will collect in 2018 and 2019 to add staff to the waste management utility and continue operating the leaf and limb pick-up program, the mulch depot on Fry Road and the curbside Christmas tree removal program, said Kevin Steinmetz, the capital projects manager for the city.
The leaf and limb program allows residents to rake their leaves to the curb to be removed, rather than bag them.
Residents have come to appreciate and expect the mulch, leaf and Christmas tree services the city provides, Steinmetz said.
More residents are using leaf and limb service year-round, and as neighborhoods age, the trees are maturing and produce more leaves and limbs, Steinmetz said.
The new contract with Best Way is for two years, with the option to renew for 2019.
The last time Greenwood raised trash rates for residents was in 2014. The city council approved a $1.25 per month increase in 2012 and another $1.25 in 2014. Residents now pay $13.47 per month for the service.
If the increases are approved, residents will pay $14.97 per month in 2019.
A public hearing is set for the Sept. 7 city council meeting.
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Greenwood trash bills
The city is proposing residents pay an incremental increase in their monthly bills for the next three years.
Current monthly charge: $13.47
Proposed:
2017: $13.97
2018: $14.47
2019: $14.97
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