After rolling out garbage tote mandate, Woodstock offers public subsidy to ease cost for those who qualify

Woodstock has approved a temporary garbage financial assistance program meant to help residents through the city’s transition to mandatory totes.

The cost of going from stickers to totes was among the concerns that residents raised as the city ironed out the new garbage contract last year; all residents now have to have totes starting July 1, and sticker prices rose to $5 last month.

Existing tote users will see a decrease in their bill once the mandatory tote service kicks in. Currently, they pay $27.65 per month for garbage service, which will go down to $25.17 per month starting July 1. Seniors will pay about $10.50 per month. Criticism of the switch by some residents prompting delays and some tweaks.

About 5,200 of the city’s 8,000 households already are on the tote system, and those residents won’t be eligible for financial assistance. People who moved to town after Oct. 31 also won’t be eligible for the subsidy because city officials said the contract was public knowledge at that point.

According to city documents, other criteria for eligibility include being eligible for SNAP, the food assistance program. Residents also will need to submit their 2024 tax returns as part of the application, according to city documents.

Council member Melissa McMahon was worried that the eligibility guidelines wouldn’t cover everyone who needs assistance.

“The SNAP guidelines are quite lower than what most families would consider a hardship, especially with various things going on in the world around us,” McMahon said.

For a family of four, the SNAP cutoff is a gross income of $4,290 per month, according to city records.

McMahon later added that 46% of Woodstock School District 200 gets free or reduced lunch, but others on the council said the school district covers areas outside Woodstock.

City Council member Bob Seegers said garbage pickup isn’t comparable with lunch programs but more “like a utility.” The full cost for garbage is about $300 a year, Seegers said. He said he’s proud of the city for coming up with the garbage subsidy program, but added there needs to be a “line of demarcation.”

McMahon said $300, even over the course of a year, could make or break a family.

City Manager Roscoe Stelford said there aren’t similar programs to be found, and the city is “blazing a trail” on this.

Mayor Mike Turner said the city is “plowing new ground” taking up the program, adding that he did not want something complex or overly subjective but wanted it to reach people who would be affected by the change. Turner said it was “good policy.”

City Council members also looked at other ways to structure the program, including potentially a two-tier system in which the city would absorb the whole cost for a year and some assistance to other residents. But ultimately, the city decided to use the SNAP criteria.

The vote Tuesday evening was 4-2. Council members Tom Nierman, Bob Seegers and Gordie Tebo as well as Turner voted yes, while council members Natalie Ziemba and Melissa McMahon voted no. Council member Darrin Flynn was absent from Tuesday’s meeting. McMahon and Ziemba both said Tuesday that they were supportive of postponing the proposal.

The city estimates that it could pay anywhere from $22,700 to $53,200 for the program, which will be paid for from revenue generated from the city’s bag fee.

The estimates came from calculating how many households out of the 2,800 would be SNAP-eligible using the McHenry County percentage, which is 6.7%; officials said it was the lowest percentage in the state.

The statewide percentage, 15.7%, according to city documents, would mean about 440 households are eligible and would run the city about $53,000.

Under the assistance plan, the maximum monthly subsidy will be about $10 for non-seniors and $2.75 for seniors. A non-senior household with the subsidy at most will pay about $15 a month, while a senior will pay $7.75, according to city documents. It was determined based on the remaining cost after city subsidy and estimated sticker costs are removed.

The program is expected to run for a year, and the City Council will see how it goes before possibly making tweaks.