JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville City Council is set to decide whether to approve more than $4 million in emergency funding to increase the rate the city pays to Meridian Waste Florida for its trash services.
The rate hike is primarily to help cover the increased cost of labor and would be paid for using reserve funds.
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Despite a recommendation by city auditors to reject the funding request, Council Finance Chair Ron Salem (R-Group 2 At-Large) supports the measure and believes it has the support on council needed to pass.
Salem notes Meridian stepped up during the trash pickup crisis during COVID, and even with the increase, its rates will still be lower than those charged by other providers used by the city.
As for tapping into reserves, Salem, who was one of the staunchest opponents of the mayor’s initial budget proposal due to its use of reserve funds, argued waste disposal is a core function of government and unless cuts can be identified elsewhere, it’s a needed expense for now.
“This rate is very fair and they’re providing good services. And we must make sure that our haulers are providing those type of services because picking up garbage so important,” said Salem.
The proposed rate hike comes as one member of the city council is raising the alarm about the instability of the city’s solid waste disposal fund.
The $4 million rate hike will not only impact the city’s costs this year but in future years as well.
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Councilmember Matt Carlucci (R-Group 4 At-Large) noted solid waste already costs the city significantly more than it takes in through trash fees.
“It’s sort of like going to your savings to pay your electric bill. Well what are you going to do next month when your savings may not be as much and you have an electric bill again?” said Carlucci.
Carlucci calculates at the current rate the city is on track to rack up half a billion in loans from general revenue by 2031 to shore up the waste fund.
That is unless city leaders agree to raise the trash fee he argued.
By raising the fee from $12.65 a month to $30.40 a month, Carlucci estimated the loan balance would be drastically reduced over that same time frame, to just $15 million.
“So, we gotta plug this hole. We gotta stop the bleeding and that’s what I’m trying to do,” said Carlucci.
However, Salem doesn’t agree with a fee increase for residents.
“To me, the garbage fee and all that is completely separate from what we’re dealing with Meridian presently,” said Salem.
He argued because trash service is a core function of government, the city should be able to fund it with general tax revenues.
“It’s a conversation and others are happy to bring it up, but I mean we have basically $2 billion of revenue and there are arguments that can be made, and I have made them, that we ought to be able to pay for garbage out of that $2 billion budget,” said Salem.
But Carlucci countered the longer the council kicks the can down the road, the problem for a future council will just become more and more daunting.
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“You know, you gotta pay now or pay later,” said Carlucci.
Carlucci plans to file two bills after the start of the new year.
One would increase the trash fee, and the other would create a financial assistance program to help low-income residents pay for trash service.
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