Residents in Lathrop will see their garbage rates increase by 2.9 percent when the new rates for the fiscal year go into effect.

But they won’t be paying that increase for at least the first six months of the next fiscal year after the Lathrop City Council agreed to subsidize the cost of the increase through the end of the calendar year.

While the total cost of the increase will be $90,000 for the fiscal year beginning on July 1, the City of Lathrop will use $45,000 in unused funds to delay the impact of the increase – hoping to stave off any fiscal impacts that residents are facing as the result of COVID-19 and the economic impacts that it has brought with it.

As part of the agreement between the City of Lathrop and Lathrop Sunrise Sanitation – which is now doing business as Republic Services – the provider of refuse collection service for the city can increase annual rates based on the consumer price index for the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose area as long as those increases do not exceed 4 percent annually.

The proposed increase that was approved on Monday night will increase the rates by 2.9 percent, or roughly $90,000 for the cost of the city, and rather than passing those rates on to consumers the city will absorb half of the increase.

The move was one of a number of proactive steps that the City of Lathrop has taken this year to prevent overburdening residents who may be adversely affected by the economic fallout of COVID-19 – starting with allowing residents to delay paying their water bill if they’re facing tough times without having to worry about having their water service disconnected. While residents in that situation will have to pay back the usage fees that they accrue, even if it’s on a payment plan, the increase in refuse collection rates will not have to be paid back when they kick in at the beginning of 2021.

Lathrop has also been advertising a financial assistance program that was approved by the council last month that will provide both families and businesses with a one-time monetary stipend if they need assistance as the result of the economic impact from COVID-19.

Standard residential rates will increase by $0.99-a-month in January for small 30-gallon bins, by $1.07-a-month for medium sized 60-gallon bins, and by $1.21-a-month for large 90-gallon bins. Senior residential rates are scheduled to increase by $0.75-a-month for small bins, $0.81-a-month for medium bins, and $0.91-a-month for large bins.

For additional information, or to see a charge that lists the approved commercial rates for the 2020/21 fiscal year, visit the City of Lathrop’s website at www.ci.lathrop.ca.us.

To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.