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$10.89 A MONTH GARBAGE HIKE
Users of 35-gallon Toters face biggest rate jump
GARBAGE TRUCK2 9-26-14

Manteca’s 12-year run without a rate hike for garbage collection is about to come to an end.
A rate study based on growing costs ranging from air quality mandates for solid waste collection trucks to a state edict that most food waste ultimately not to be buried along with rising day-to-day costs is being presented to the Manteca City Council when they meet Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Civic Center, 1001 W. Center St.
The monthly rate structure staff is recommending out of three alternatives would be phased in over five years starting in 2017 until fully implemented in 2021.
uIt would take the 35-gallon Toter from $19.78 to $30.67 for a $10.89 per month increase.
uIt would take the 65-gallon Toter from $25.49 to $32.61 for a $7.12 per month increase
uIt would take the 95-gallon Toter from $30.02 to $34.33 for a $4.21 per month increase.
uIt would take senior low-income Toter service from $12.72 to $19.72 for a $7 per month increase.
uIt would take 1-yard commercial bins picked up once a week from $67.57 to $119.80.
uIt would take 2-yard commercial bins picked up once a week from $97.44 to $132.71.
uIt would take 3 yard commercial bins picked up once a week from $120.05 to $145.62
uIt would take 3 yard commercial bins picked up three times a week from $317.96 to $436.85.
uIt would take 4-yard commercial bins picked up once a week from $146.72 to $158.53.
uIt would take 4-yard commercial bins picked up three times a week from $388.31 to $475.58.
uIt would take 6-yard commercial bins picked up once a week from $196.06 down to $184.34.
uIt would take 6-yard commercial bins picked up three times a week from $529.42 to $553.03.
The recommended rate would give the city a 21 percent operating reserve for the solid waste enterprise fund by 2021. It has fallen below the current 25 percent and is projected to 19 percent or $2,138,804 by 2021 if new rates aren’t put in place.

City may phase out
35-gallon Toters
through attrition
The study also proposes making basic changes to the city’s way of doing solid waste business.
The biggest impact for current residents will be phasing out the small 35-gallon Toters by attrition. Residents qualifying for the senior rate would be issued a 65-gallon Toter.
Also recycling will become mandatory for all multi-family complexes such as apartments, construction, demolition, and commercial users.
Current Manteca residents fund the cost of starting new service for homes and businesses. That would change with a new fee to recover 100 percent of what it takes to start new service.
Commercial food waste collection will be phased in to allow the city to meet a state mandate not to bury it with the rest of the municipal trash.
New commercial and industrial projects will pay for their cost to purchase and deliver new carts, bins, or boxes.
The need to raise rates comes after years of Manteca solid waste staff coming up with ways to make route collection more efficient by effectively increasing the number of collections a driver makes on any given day. Part of that was through automation and part of it was through rethinking of how the city delivered the service ranging from trucks purchased to enforcing rules to avoid contamination of recyclables and green waste.
To meet Air Resources Board requirements the city must replace 16 solid waste trucks by 2023 with vehicles that burn cleaner.
The city is tying that mandate with the requirement to not bury food waste to convert food waste into liquefied gas to fuel cleaner burning solid waste trucks.
 It is costing the city $6.1 million to put a system in place to covert food waste to compressed natural gas. The system also will help the city meet air quality standards at the wastewater treatment plant by harnessing methane gas that is now burned off in the atmosphere. Methane gas is considered a major culprit in greenhouse gas emissions prompted the state to further clamp down on dairy manure as well as cow belching and releasing gas. The city has received $1.8 million in grants to help offset some of the costs. They have applied for an additional $3 million for the project that is considered cutting edge.
The city also needs to develop a new corporation yard at a cost of $5 million of which solid waste would use a large chunk of the facility.

Residents would start
paying higher rate
on April 15, 2017
The study notes the solid waste division spending $1 million plus a year providing a number of services to the community at no charge. Those services include collecting medical sharps, e-waste events, street sweeping, cleaning up illegal dumping, alley cleanups, Christmas tree collection, shred-it events, homeless camp cleanups, and leaf pickup among others. They also provide one free small collection bin once a year to residents as well as three 32-gallon bag collections beyond the weekly Toter collection.
The proposed rate hike is following Proposition 218 restrictions. That means the rates charged cannot exceed the cost of providing the service. One segment of ratepayers such as commercial cannot subsidize another such as residential. The City Council is required to consider all protests.
Proposition 218 requires written notices of the proposed rate increase to be sent to all affected landowners and tenants.
Tuesday’s presentation to the council is the first step. Written notices would be sent out Oct. 7. A public hearing notice would be published Nov. 25 with the protest hearing taking place Dec. 6. The second reading or adoption would be on Dec. 20.
Impacted ratepayers would be notified Jan. 18, 2017 with new rates going into effect Feb. 6, 2017. The first payments of the new rates takes place April 15, 2017.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com