Garbage bills could rise by nearly 40% in this SLO County city. Here’s why
Garbage bills in Morro Bay could increase by nearly 40% in October, according to a staff report presented to the Morro Bay City Council at its meeting Tuesday.
The City Council will vote on whether or not to approve the trash collection rate hike at its meeting on Oct. 10.
The Morro Bay Garbage Company will mail ratepayers a letter notifying them of the potential rate increase 45 days before the meeting.
The city’s last garbage rate increase was 9.1% on July 1, 2022, to compensate for the cost of truck replacements, updating its organics program and funding the anerobic digester facility, the staff report said.
If more than 50% of customers submit written protest of the rate increase, it will be canceled — freezing the current rate in place.
The notice will include instructions for how to protest the rate increase, according to Morro Bay Public Works Director Greg Kwolek.
Usually, the Morro Bay Garbage Company only sends an English version of the letter to ratepayers, but the city will work with the company to distribute a Spanish version, too, Kwolek said.
According to Morro Bay management analyst Janeen Burlingame, at least 2,680 ratepayers would need to protest the rate increase to cancel it.
Why could Morro Bay garbage bills increase?
Morro Bay Garbage Service, an affiliate of Waste Connections, has a contract with Morro Bay to collect garbage and recycling in the city.
On Dec. 5, 2022, Morro Bay Garbage Service applied to the city for a 30.6% rate increase to cover a $956,532 budget shortfall, according to Burlingame.
After negotiating with the city, the company agreed to a base rate increase of 20.2% to start on Oct. 15.
The base rate increase accounts for wage bumps for employees, spikes in material costs caused by inflation, and reduced revenue from recycling, according to Burlingame.
Morro Bay Garbage Service also requested an additional temporary rate increase of 18.4% to recover revenue lost during rate negotiations, as the company intended to start the rate hike on March 1, Burlingame said.
The temporary rate increase would expire on June 30, 2024, according to Burlingame.
If approved, the two rate hikes add up to 38% for Morro Bay ratepayers.
Starting Oct. 15, the monthly bill for a 19-gallon garbage can would jump from $15.39 to $21.33 if city council approves the new rates, according to the staff report.
When the temporary 18.38% increase expires on June 30, 2024, collection of a 19-gallon garbage would lower to $18.50 per month, the report said.
For collection of a 32-gallon garbage can, the monthly bill would spike from $24.95 to $34.58 on Oct. 15, then reduce to $30 on June 30, 2024, the staff report said.
At least one Morro Bay resident didn’t seem concerned about the potential rate hike.
“I understand the garbage rates are gonna go up, everything’s going up,” Terry Simmons said at Tuesday’s meeting. “I’ll have a $5 increase in my garbage. I don’t think that’s going to kill me.”
Trash collection rates up in SLO, Los Osos
After the rate increases, Morro Bay’s garbage collection costs would be similar to surrounding communities.
Monthly collection of a 32-gallon garbage can costs $22.84 in San Luis Obispo, $31.65 in Cayucos, $40.30 in Cambria and $49.68 in Los Osos, according to the staff report.
Morro Bay isn’t the first coastal community to consider a sharp increase in trash collection rates.
In October 2022, garbage bills in Cambria increased by a whopping 62%.
In March, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors voted to approve increasing waste collection rates by 97% in Los Osos.
This story was originally published August 9, 2023 at 12:17 PM.
