The residential trash pickup fee in Auburn may double in the 2022-23 fiscal year budget.
Superintendent of Public Works Mike Talbot made the final departmental budget presentation to the City Council Thursday night. Auburn City Clerk Chuck Mason says part of the reason for a $1.8 million deficit in the solid waste fund is costs associated with the closure of the city’s landfill in 2020, when the city switched over to using a transfer station to send waste to landfills in other communities.
The City Council is considering increasing the residential fee to $240 per year. It would be the first rate hike since the 2015-16, budget, when the city first began charging a separate solid waste pickup fee. After Talbot’s presentation, the council got a look at the overall proposed budget of $43,508,785. It calls for a 6.58% spending increase over the current year. A $1.25 million dollar gap will be closed by using the city’s fund balance.
Mason says the proposal also includes two new security officers for City Hall. A public hearing on the spending plan will be held May 19. The Council hopes to adopt a budget at its June 2 meeting. The city’s fiscal year begins July 1.
Listen to my full Inside the FLX conversation with Auburn City Clerk Chuck Mason below.
