San Diego single-family homeowners will pay from $23 a month to garbage services if they end free garbage collection for those customers if city voters approve the November ballot measure, according to an analysis released Tuesday. You will pay $29.
However, an analysis completed by the city’s independent budget analysts does not take into account increased service levels such as free bins and more frequent recycling pickups, so your monthly bill will almost certainly be higher than that range. higher.
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The ballot measure would guarantee free trash bins, which the city doesn’t currently offer, and the new state mandate would allow the city to expand green waste services to all households, making them weekly instead of bi-weekly. It is necessary to start recycling once every
The IBA analysis, which appears in election materials mailed to voters as the ballot measure’s “fiscal impact analysis,” does not estimate how these service level improvements will affect monthly bills.
The analysis says the $23-$29 range is based on the city’s projection of spending $79.2 million on garbage services in the fiscal year that begins July 1. Free service.
Dividing $278 by 12 months gives a monthly bill of just over $23. The IBA’s analysis included only the costs of services “currently provided” by the city and the “potential costs of billing and collecting toll revenue.”
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The IBA says the range of $23 to $29 is “similar to rates charged by other peer cities offering similar services.” This cites his IBA’s earlier analysis of other large cities in California, where city officials collect garbage fees of $19 to $46 per month.
Cities that use private carriers for garbage collection typically charge more, but the voting language in San Diego’s bill would allow the city to continue using in-house city employees to collect garbage from single-family homes. It clearly states that
San Diego is the only city in California and the nation to offer free trash collection for single-family homes. Freebies guaranteed by a law of 1919 called the People’s Ordinance do not apply to businesses or residents living in apartments or condominiums and must be paid to private carriers.
Just under 53% of city households receive free services.
The estimated monthly bill of $23 to $29 also doesn’t take into account the possibility that city officials may choose to charge less than what the city spends on services.
If voters eliminated free trash collection, the city’s General Fund would have an additional $58.7 million a year to spend on parks, libraries, firefighting, law enforcement and other essential services. The rest of her $20 million the city spends on garbage annually comes from the recycling fund.
Elo-Rivera said city officials may decide it’s okay to collect some, but not all, of what the city spends.
The $23 to $29 monthly bill estimate may not apply to low-income families or other difficult cases. Elo Rivera, who has spearheaded the efforts behind the ballot measure, has pledged to subsidize them.
The city will use General Fund funds to help some low-income customers pay their bills. State law prohibits cities from raising money for subsidies by charging higher-income residents more.
It is also important to note that no fees will be charged until at least two years after the ballot measure is approved. This is because state law requires cities to conduct a comprehensive study of how much they spend on providing services before they begin charging fees.
The analysis, called a cost of service study, will be performed by consultants selected through a competitive bidding process and will cost the city about $1 million, according to the IBA.
“A service cost study will determine what charges will ultimately be charged, taking into account current costs as well as the potential for service level improvements and other changes,” the IBA said. “The study will also determine fee structures and how low-income programs and other discount programs, if any, will be structured.”
The IBA notes that its estimate of $23 to $29 per month does not anticipate how inflation will affect monthly bills, but the fact that the fee will not be introduced for more than two years This means that prices may increase with inflation during that time. .
Some supporters of the ballot measure say it’s too early to estimate monthly bills. That’s because the ballot measure only asks the city to research possible fees instead of actually enforcing them. IBA disagrees.
“The rate has not yet been determined, but although the action does not impose a fee, it is reasonable to assume that residents currently receiving solid waste services from the city will be charged at some point. is,” said the IBA analysis.
Former city council member Carl DeMaio, who is leading the opposition to the ballot measure, called the estimate a “lowball” and said the city has the power to raise fees without an additional popular vote.
“Five years from now, there will be far more people paying than this estimate,” says DeMaio.
The ballot measure that appears as Measure B in the November ballot requires approval by a simple majority of voters.
Letters have also been assigned to three other city ballot measures.
Proposals to lift height restrictions on buildings near city sports arenas would go under Measure C; proposals to repeal the city’s ban on union-friendly project collective bargaining agreements would go under Measure D; It will be a proposal to allow. Perk will be Major H.
