Garbage fees may go up in Moses Lake

MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake City Council members are considering a rate increase for residential customers with 48-gallon solid waste collection carts.

At a previous meeting the council authorized raising the monthly collection fee for residential customers in Moses Lake with a 48-gallon cart from $16.90 to $20.65, a $3.75 increase that is estimated to drum up an additional $200,000 in revenue for the city’s Solid Waste Program.

The $20.65 is still below the actual cost of service for a 48-gallon cart, which was determined in a recent cost of service study to be $24.62 “and is being subsidized primarily by commercial rates,” according to city documents.

A city memo states that in 2018 the recycling market drastically changed, which caused Moses Lake to go from earning $20,000 in 2017 from recycling to spending $95,000 for disposal in 2018.

“We also changed partners in the yard waste disposal program, with an additional cost of about $22,000,” reads the memo. “These increases of $135,000 roughly match how far the budget is out of balance for both 2018 and 2019. (It is possible that this fund will need another interfund loan to close out 2018. This would come back to Council in late December if necessary).”

The Solid Waste Budget for 2018 narrowly balanced before increases in the recycling/yard waste programs began. A 3 percent rate increase was put into place in September, but the bump up only covered a parallel 3 percent increase in the material hauling contract.

Despite the council giving the verbal go-ahead for the 48-gallon cart rate increase, the adjustment has not been formally voted upon by the council. The increase is on the agenda for tonight’s council meeting and if passed will begin with the city’s December billing cycle.

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at rbyrd@columbiabasinherald.com.