Riverside County supervisors will schedule a public hearing Tuesday to consider whether to increase fees for trash collection in unincorporated communities.
According to Department of Environmental Health Director Steve Van Stockum, the four waste haulers under contract with the county — Burrtec Waste, CR&R Inc., Desert Valley Disposal and Waste Management Inc. — are seeking a 2 percent increase in fees to keep pace with inflation over the last year.
Van Stockum characterized the increase as relatively small, adding an average 52 cents per month to residents’ bills.
The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday will set a hearing date as part of its policy agenda.
The board adjusts refuse retrieval rates virtually every year. In the past, adjustments have been as high as 3 percent.
In 2015, a 0.7 percent hike became a hotly debated issue after several Mead Valley residents complained to the board that Waste Management was tacking extra charges onto their bills after their properties were designated “hard-to-serve,” even though the homes were not on hillsides or in isolated locations.
Supervisor Kevin Jeffries demanded answers from the company, whose spokeswoman admitted “errors” and assured the board that the deficiencies would be rectified. Within two months, more than 750 residences were reclassified to remove the additional cost burdens.
Waste collection for the county occurs in 11 “franchise areas,” which encompass communities including Cabazon, Desert Center, East Hemet, Lakeland Village, Thermal and Thousand Palms.
The inflationary adjustments to fees are based on fluctuations in the consumer price index for the Los Angeles metropolitan area between Jan. 1 and Dec. 30, 2016.
Most residents pay between $18.28 and $33.57 per month for service, according to county officials. The cost for commercial accounts is $72 to $1,817 per month. Account holders are generally billed quarterly.
–City News Service