City of Bloomington carts for recycling and trash.
The ordinance was given a 32-word title: “Ordinance 23-11 – To Amend Title 6 of the Bloomington Municipal Code Entitled “Health and Sanitation” – Re: Updating and Harmonizing Chapters 4 and 5 of Title 6 of the Bloomington Municipal Code.”
At first glance, this title makes the proposed revision to the law seem innocuous.
However, buried inside this verbose yet opaque title is a major increase in the trash collection fees paid by residents—which is surely controversial.
Sanitation worker uses a mechanical arm to empty a Bloomington solid waste cart. Screengrab from city of Bloomington video.
The roughly 6,000 Bloomington residents who currently pay the city $11.61 a month for weekly pickup of their 64-gallon trash cart, could see that amount more than doubled—to around $24 a month.
That kind of increase would come from applying some assumptions floated at city council sessions—like eliminating general fund support for trash pickup, and increasing rates only for medium and large carts, not for the smallest size.
At its regular Wednesday meeting, Bloomington’s city council ratified garbage collection fees that expired nearly a year ago, on Nov. 1, 2020.
Sanitation worker uses a mechanical arm to empty a Bloomington solid waste cart. Screengrab from city of Bloomington video.
In the future, the council won’t have to worry about fees expiring. That’s because on Wednesday, the council eliminated the city code’s entire “sunset” clause for the fees.
The sunset clause was added as an amendment, when the council adopted the 2017 ordinance that set the fees for the new system of refuse carts.
The clause was intended to trigger a review of rates, after sufficient data had been collected by public works staff from the new system.
Wednesday’s action did not raise garbage collection rates.
Based on March 22, 2017 meeting minutes, the council was supposed to undertake a rate review last year with an eye towards possibly providing a rebate to residents who generate less garbage.
Based on the meeting minutes, it appears that the debate on the exact date of the sunset clause lasted about an hour. The initial date proposed was July 1, 2019, but public works director Adam Wason said if there were to be a sunset date, he’d prefer Nov. 1, 2020. Wason said the later date would allow more data to be collected.
On Wednesday, the ordinance passed by the city council was approved at the same meeting on the same day when it was first introduced, which required and received a unanimous vote.
Under state law, the council is able to ratify the authorization of the fees retroactively, according to assistant city attorney Larry Allen.
Sanitation worker uses a mechanical arm to empty a Bloomington solid waste cart. Screengrab from city of Bloomington video.
Screengrab of CATS broadcast of March 3, 2020 board of public works meeting showing Adam Wason, director of public works.
Starting in the April billing cycle, Bloomington residents will pay more every month for trash and recycling service. That’s the result of a unanimous vote on the three-member board of public works at its regular meeting on Tuesday.
In round numbers, customers will pay between $3.50 and $23 more a year, depending on the size of the trash cart they use.
The fee increase is due to costs that are charged to the city by Republic Services for processing recycled materials. Those costs have replaced payments the city previously received (“rebates”) for its recycling commodities, according to Bloomington’s director of public works, Adam Wason.
Also at Tuesday’s meeting, Wason spitballed a possible new way of paving local streets.
The $402,065 of “disposal” costs for 2019 include $85,616 for processing 3,243 tons of recyclables at a new rate of $26.40 per ton. It’s typically been a rebate, not a cost, but because the global recycling commodities market is down, Bloomington now has to pay to get its recycled material processed.
Bloomington residents who use medium-sized solid waste carts for their trash will pay about $13 more per year, if the board of public works approves a rate increase at its meeting next Tuesday.
