During the FY 2025–26 budget workshop, City of Atlanta council members discussed operations and pricing at the citizen collection station (CCS), concluding with direction to add an additional open day for residents and to explore a two‑tier pricing and ID‑verification approach.

Finley presented the budgetary impact of CCS schedule changes and said closing the CCS one day a week saves the city approximately $17,000 annually in personnel costs because sweeping and staff schedules change. “The savings of personnel cost for the city by closure of the CCS for 1 day is approximately 17,000 a year,” Finley said.

Council members said the greater complaint they hear from residents is that the station is not open enough. Several members proposed a resident discount or verification system (driver’s license, utility bill or an ID card) to preserve lower rates for city residents while charging out‑of‑city users more.

Operations staff member Carrie said roughly “40 to 50%” of customers received emailed utility statements a year ago, a figure council members cited when considering an ID/verification rollout that could use utility billing records or driver’s licenses at the point of dropoff.

Council direction and implementation steps

- Council gave staff consent to restore a five‑day CCS schedule (an additional open day), with staff to reallocate budget lines accordingly and to return with a budget modification reflecting the change. (Consensus/direction)
- Staff was directed to design a resident‑verification mechanism (options discussed included driver’s license checks, utility bill evidence or a perforated card on bills) and to recommend an implementation and communication plan; staff will return in roughly 90–180 days to report on operational effects. (Direction)
- The council indicated preference to close Wednesday rather than Monday if scheduling had to change; staff will incorporate operational input when packaging the budget.

Why this matters: the CCS serves residents who bring bulk waste and materials; changes to hours, days and rates affect convenience and accessibility. The council emphasized clarity of communication and an initial learning period if verification is required: “There will be a kind of a, a period where everybody learning period,” a council member said.

No formal master-fee schedule amendment was adopted at the workshop. Staff said master-fee changes would likely be presented later, and the budget packaging would include the proposed CCS operational changes so the council could consider a fee amendment as part of the formal budget process.