Council to hold hearing over fee change for trash

The City Council has announced a protest hearing will be held in April regarding changes in rates and fees for solid waste.

After the city OK’d the agreement with American Refuse for the collection of solid waste in Shafter, the council also announced the fee changes.

Residents will be paying a little over $10 a month more in the new collection system. This increase takes into consideration the change from the one cart system to each household having three carts to be collected. There will be a regular trash cart, a green waste and organic waste bin, and a blue recyclable bin.

These bins will be put out on the curb for collection, as there will be no more alley service in the city. It will be each resident’s responsibility to have the carts in place for collection.

There is also discussion about providing assistance for those residents who may not be physically able to get the carts to the curb.

There will also be a free service for residents who may have bulky items that cannot be collected in the regular trash collection. It will be by appointment only, with American Refuse picking up the items once a week, at no charge.

Residents are invited to attend the protest hearing if they have any concerns on the new rates and fees schedule. Currently, residents pay about $16 a month for trash collection, with the new fee schedule being around $27 per month.

At a recent meeting, several residents voiced concerns over the change in the trash collection system. Pam Sutton worried about being able to move the cans.

“I don’t think I will be able to move the cans by myself. I don’t even think I will be able to keep my cans and the different kinds or trash separated. It seems like a whole lot of trouble,” Sutton said.

“I am currently sharing a 300 gallon can and it is full all of the time. The size of the individual cans are going to be very restrictive on how much we will be able to dispose of. Is it going to end up costing me a lot more money to have the same service?” resident Colleen Diltz said.

Details on the time and place of the protest hearing will be announced.