Garbage collection in JacksonvilleGarbage collection in Jacksonville
A solid waste employee collects garbage in Jacksonville. | News4Jax

Councilman wants to raise garbage fees in Jacksonville

Published on November 19, 2024 at 9:42 am
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Jacksonville City Councilman Matt Carlucci is pushing to raise garbage fees to address a growing financial shortfall in the city’s trash collection services.

Currently, residents pay about $150 annually for garbage pickup, but Carlucci said the actual cost is nearly double that amount.

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During the pandemic, Jacksonville faced significant challenges with waste collection, including worker shortages. As a result, wages went up for trash haulers in Jacksonville, with the city raising pay for some workers by nearly 45% and Waste Management raising pay by 33%.

Despite these rising costs, the solid waste fee for homeowners has remained unchanged since 2010 at $12.65 per month.

Garbage collection debt

To cover the gap, the city of Jacksonville has been borrowing from its general fund.

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“That could be used for better parks, more water and sewer line extensions, more roads and streets, better drainage, Downtown development … you name it,” Carlucci said.

According to the Council Auditor’s Office, the debt associated with garbage collection has grown significantly, with the city expected to borrow nearly $36 million this fiscal year. Auditor’s projections indicate the total debt will rise to about $95 million by late September 2025.

“We don’t want to saddle our future generations with that,” Carlucci said. “It’s a big mess.”

He noted that the borrowing mechanism is considered a loan because the beaches communities and Baldwin independently fund their own trash services.

Proposed solutions

Carlucci plans to introduce legislation in the coming year to increase the garbage fee. He suggested a gradual approach to ease the financial burden on residents.

“[If] we went to say, $20 [per month], that would greatly slow down the loan … the next year, it would go back up to the actual cost of the service, plus a couple of bucks maybe to help pay off the loan,” he said.

The council member also expressed openness to other ideas, saying, “You can’t solve a problem if you don’t face it.”

Carlucci’s stance has faced criticism, including from Brian Hughes, who was Jacksonville’s chief administrative officer under former Mayor Lenny Curry. Hughes wrote on social media Monday: “Terrible idea here. Time for Jax to collapse the separate fund, move garbage costs into general fund, and treat it like the essential service (like cops & fire) that it is.”

Carlucci maintains that dismantling garbage fees would mean new interlocal agreements with the beaches communities that he believes would probably cost Jacksonville money.

The draft legislation currently lacks specific fee rates as discussions continue, but Carlucci said he plans to include some form of relief for residents needing financial assistance. He expressed a strong desire to resolve the issue within his remaining 2½ years on the council.

This story was produced by News4Jax, a Jacksonville Today news partner.


author image Anne Maxwell is an award-winning investigative reporter who joined News4Jax in August 2021. Anne previously worked at WSPA in Greenville, South Carolina, as a reporter and fill-in anchor.

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