Some cities use property taxes to pay for trash pickup. Some cities charge a separate fee. And some cities won’t pick up residents’ trash at all — residents are forced to contract out for the service.
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And financial crises appear to be the main reason cities turn to trash fees.
That’s the conclusion of a study by Goshen Mayor Allan Kauffman, who surveyed more than 100 Indiana cities to see how they handled paying for trash pickup.
Of 70 responses, Kauffman received, it turned out that 46 cities have a trash fee, and 24 have no fee.
Of the 24 without a fee, five don’t offer trash service. Residents in those cities contract privately or make other arrangements.
Kauffman said nine cities are currently considering a trash fee, including several cities where the subject has previously been broached. Noblesville city officials, in particular, have tried twice to put in a trash fee, only to be rebuffed by the city council. Undaunted, they’re still trying.
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Then there are the cities that can’t seem to make up their collective minds about trash fees.
Columbus established fees of $10 to $14 in 2010, and then turned around and slashed the fees in 2011, and finally did away with the fees altogether this year, according to Kauffman’s survey, which was distributed to mayors around the state.
Bloomington, usually considered at the vanguard of the green movement in Indiana, sells trash bag stickers for $2 apiece. The city won’t pick up a trash bag without the sticker, and recycling is free.
The problem is that the sticker fees don’t come close to covering the cost of trash pickup, so the council there is considering trash fees.
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