HOMEOWNERS will have to fork out more when it comes to having their trash collected after officials decided to hike fees.
Scores of residents are to be impacted by the price rise from October 1 when it comes into force.
Officials across Florida are grappling with rising landfill costs[/caption]
Homeowners are facing rising costs when it comes to garbage collection[/caption]
Some homeowners in Port Lucie County, Florida, will see their trash collection fees jump by $82.56.
This means that homeowners will have to fork out $468 a year to have their garbage collected.
The price hike will predominately impact those who live in unincorporated areas of the county.
This is a community that is governed by the county as a whole, rather than a city mayor.
Despite the price hike, garbage collections will continue to take place two times a week.
The rising fees have sparked fury among some homeowners.
Rita Dulya, a local resident, claimed the city was being infested with maggots and flies, according to a city council transcript, seen by the CW affiliate WTVX-TV.
Others claimed that the quality of services had dropped.
“We used to have our trash picked up twice a week. Bulk was picked up a couple of times a month,” Robert Griffin, a local, told the CBS affiliate WPEC-TV.
Some areas are only seeing their garbage collected once a week and this has proved contentious, according to Treasure Coast Newspapers.
Locals are set to vote on the issue in a referendum in November next year.
Garbage collection fee rises are not the only price hike residents are set to face.
But, residents who live within the city of Port Lucie – located around 100 miles from Miami – will see their trash collection fees rise by $14.
The cost to dispose solid waste at landfills will also rise.
Port Lucie County garbage fee price hikes
OFFICIALS across Port Lucie in Florida have decided to hike garbage collection fees, sparking fury. But, there is a discrepancy depending on what part of the county someone lives in.
Unincorporated communities – areas that are governed by the county, rather than the city, are set to face a higher cost.
Garbage collection fees are set to jump by $80.
But, city officials have secured deals which serve as a benefit to residents.
In the city of Port Lucie, homeowners will see a $14 rise for garbage collection.
Homeowners will have to fork out an extra $6 over the course of the year to dispose waste.
This brings the total rise to $20.89.
In the city of Port Lucie, homeowners will face a $6 rise when it comes to disposing waste.
City officials claimed they were able to negotiate a better deal than the county.
They claimed it has helped every homeowner save $45.
Erick Gill, a St Lucie County official, said the landfill had been running at a loss but alluded to higher fuel costs that had to be grappled with.
“The landfill ran at a deficit,” he told WPTV-TV.
“Rates have not really increased since the 90s, but the operating costs have increased, fuel and equipment.”
He admitted that rising fees was bound to be an unpopular measure.
“No one wants to pay more,” he said.
“But at the same time, this is a business.”
Trash collection and disposal fees are paid through a homeowner’s property tax bill.
RISING COSTS
Counties across the US have taken the decision to hike waste collection fees.
In Marion County, Florida, homeowners are set to see a price rise of $128, from $87 to $215.
Officials have said the solid waste collection fee has remained static for almost 20 years.
Residents in Fort Collins, Colorado, are set to notice a hike on their bills.
They could be impacted by a price hike of up to $3.45 a month when it comes to garbage collection, as reported by the Fort Collins Coloradoan.
The U.S. Sun has reported how a $523 yearly trash fee hike has sparked fury among some San Diego residents.
It has sparked so much anger that it has prompted some furious homeowners to file lawsuits.
