Joliet garbage rates going up if council approves hike

JOLIET – Residents would pay more for garbage and recycling pickup next month under a rate increase that goes to the Joliet City Council for a vote Tuesday.

Rates would go up by less than a dollar in each of the next two years after having been frozen since 2010, according to a memo and ordinance describing the proposed increases.

Residents now paying $23.42 a month would pay $24.30 in 2016 and $25.20 in 2017, according to the ordinance.

Seniors who get a discounted rate would see it go from $18 a month now to $18.60 in 2016 and $19.20 in 2017.

“The current rate for municipal waste was approved in 2007 and has not changed since 2010,” according to City Manager Jim Hock’s memo to the council on the garbage rates.

Hock said in the memo that the rate increase would be equal to the fees being charged by Waste Management through its current contract with the city, which runs to the end of 2017.

The proposed ordinance also includes:

• A 10 percent late charge on delinquent bills that are not paid within 15 days of the due date, along with provisions for waiving that charge.

• A new $80 reinstatement fee for customers who want to re-establish waste collection after it has been terminated.

• A new $60 deposit for residential customers who want waste collection without city water or sewer service.

Real estate transfer tax

Hock notified the council of the proposed garbage rate hike Nov. 30 when he first presented the 2016 budget.

The garbage rates have received little attention, unlike a proposed property tax hike opposed by Mayor Bob O’Dekirk and some council members and an increase in the real estate transfer tax that has faced opposition from Realtors.

A public hearing on the proposed real estate transfer tax hike is scheduled for Tuesday, when the council also is expected to vote on whether to place it on the March 15 ballot. The tax, which would go from the current rate of $3 per $1,000 to $5 per $1,000, would have to be approved by referendum to go into effect.

A council memo compares the proposed $5 per $1,000 rate with the rates in other municipalities, including: Aurora, $3; Naperville, $3; Bolingbrook, $7.50; Channahon, $3 and Romeoville, $3.50.