YORBA LINDA : Council OKs 21-Cent Hike in Trash Fee

The City Council this week passed a resolution that will increase trash collection fees for residents to $13.52 a month, a 21-cent hike. The move comes after the council eliminated several proposed additions to the city’s trash service and reduced the franchise fee paid by the contractor.

The new rate will go into effect July 1 and will include an 11-cent monthly charge for pickup of bulky items. Currently, Anaheim-based Taormina Industries, which operates the city’s trash collection, charges $31 to pick up large items such as appliances and furniture.

Under the new provisions approved Tuesday, residents can request pickup of large items up to three times a year at no additional cost.

The rate increase was triggered by the city’s contract with Taormina, which calls for a cost-of-living increase, as well as by an increase in the amount of waste generated by residents. These factors increase the monthly fee charged by Taormina by 48 cents. Combined with the fee for bulky items, the company will receive a monthly fee increase of 59 cents for each household.

To reduce the effect of the increase on residents, the council took two steps to keep costs down. First, the city will bill for trash collection via property tax bills instead of doing it separately, thus saving 21 cents a month.

Second, the council reduced the franchise fee, a payment from Taormina to the city for the right of an exclusive contract, by 17 cents a month. The reduction of the franchise fee means a loss of $34,000 a year to the city’s general fund.