Solid Waste Authority approves FY2026 budget, authorizes assessment and tip-fee rates; staff to bid vegetation options and merge service areas

The Palm Beach County Solid Waste Authority board voted to approve the fiscal year 2026 proposed budget and to authorize assessment and tip-fee rates for inclusion on the upcoming trim notice. The board carried the motion 7-0 after staff outlined proposed rate increases, capital plans, changes to franchise service-area boundaries and alternative vegetation-collection options for the 2026 franchise contract.

Why it matters: the budget and rate decisions affect annual charges on property-owner notices, the authority’s capital program and how contractors will bid countywide collection services. The package funds capital projects, debt service and planned operations for the year ahead.

What staff presented: CFO Dan Dunkley reviewed fiscal 2025 highlights and fiscal 2026 proposals. He said special assessments make up roughly 65% of total revenue and recapped the current (fiscal 2025) assessment rates that the authority adopted last year: single-family residential $194 per year, multifamily $107, and mobile-home $184. For fiscal 2026, staff proposed an average 7.6% increase to collection assessments: staff listed a proposed single-family assessment of $277 per year, a multifamily assessment to $116, and mobile homes to $198. Dunkley also said staff proposes raising the…