Fresno City residential garbage service rates increasing by 114%

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The cost of trash collection in the City of Fresno is going up. In just days, people in Fresno will be paying from 5 to nearly 9 dollars more a month for solid waste services.

That includes curbside garbage, recycling and organic waste pickup, along with free dump and shred days.

An on-call bulk pick-up service will also be added for residents to call to schedule bulky item removal.

This is the first time the rate has been increased since 2009.

"If we had seen more political courage from City Hall throughout the last 15 years, you would have seen a more reasonable kind of rate increase of the 50 cents or so per year that would have kept us up to par with what the actual cost of taking out the trash really is," said Nelson Esparza, Fresno City Council.

The city said it must cover the increasing costs of operating garbage services.

However, council members said they didn't take the decision lightly.

"It's like death with 1000 cuts," said Mike Karbassi, Fresno City Council. "You've got PG&E rates going up now. You have city utility rates going up. You have fuel costs for people going up, food costs going up. It's very difficult to make this decision. This is probably the hardest decision I've had to make as a council member, but I also signed up to make tough decisions."

Without the increase, City Manager Georgeanne White says services would need to be cut.

"So we, of course, would start with not being able to do free dump days, not being able to do shred days, and then we would have to look at eliminating our operation cleanup, which is very popular, and I think residents would be very unhappy about," said White.

The increase is about 114% over five years.

The rate increases will be more significant for those with the smaller 64-gallon cart for trash.

Right now, they pay a little over 19 dollars a month, by next month they'll be paying $28, and by 2029, $41 a month.

For those with a bigger 96-gallon cart for trash, your rate will increase by more than $5 starting next month.

City leaders are looking to prevent dramatic increases such as this one in the future.

An affordability credit program is available for those eligible, similar to the CARE PROGRAM offered through PG&E.

You can apply for the program now on the city's website.

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