Broomfield staff outlines options to reimburse residents' trash-cart cancellation fees; council weighs targeted aid

Broomfield City staff on the study-session agenda presented options for reimbursing cancellation or cart-removal fees that some residents face when they cancel private trash service to join the city's new residential collection program. Staff said they can model reimbursements that would cover 100%, 75% or 50% of documented fees, or a targeted 100% for households meeting low‑income or senior criteria; they did not ask council to adopt a policy tonight but requested direction on whether to develop a program and how to pay for it.

The item matters because the city is about to begin deployment of carts and start service under a five‑year contract with Waste Connections of Colorado. Staff told council the program automatically enrolls roughly 9,600 single‑family and small multifamily households for service beginning March 31; some residents who cancel existing private service have been charged cart‑removal or cancellation fees by their current haulers.

Staff presenter Allison Harvey said city staff traced the problem to two national haulers: Waste Management told staff it charges a flat cart removal fee for its roughly 3,000 non‑HOA Broomfield customers and staff used a $75 estimate for budgeting (Waste Management told staff it had quoted $65 to…