JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — On Monday night, the public will have the opportunity to make their voices heard about a proposed rate hike on solid waste collection in Jacksonville.
In February, Action News Jax told you that the Solid Waste Fee Bill passed 12-7 in the City Council in the first step of a two-step process.
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Councilman Matt Carlucci is the sponsor of the bill. He said the current fee isn’t covering the costs of garbage service.
“This fee will get us back where we need to be,” Carlucci said. “And if we continue to raise it in increments now, that would be smaller, that keeps up with the actual cost of the service, that certainly will keep us from having to make such a big jump in the rate.”
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Right now, the current rate per Jacksonville resident is $12.65 a month or $151.80 a year. The proposed rate hike would increase that rate to $27/per month or $324.00 for the 2025 calendar year. It would also bump the annual rate for the 2026 calendar year to $354.00 and $384.00 for the 2027 calendar year.
“We’re definitely not happy about this,” Jacksonville resident Steve Hereford said.
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Hereford has lived in Jacksonville for over 40 years. He got the public notice about the proposed solid waste collection assessment in the mail recently. He said he was shocked when he first saw it.
“I have three units on my property, and this increase made it to be about $172 more per unit than we’re already paying,” Hereford said. “We’re not against paying what we need to pay, but not an increase like that. That’s just too much.”
Monday will be the first of two public hearings on the bill. After the second public hearing, the City Council will hold a final vote on the measure. The second public hearing will be May 27.
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