Finance committee backs $160 residential garbage, recycling charge and sends it to council

The Waukesha City Finance Committee on Sept. 30 voted to recommend that the Common Council adopt Resolution 2025-17, creating an annual $160 special charge for residential garbage and recycling collection and disposal.

The proposal would move costs now paid from the city’s general fund into a dedicated special revenue fund, put the charge on property tax bills as a “special charge” and remove about $2 million from the property tax levy, city staff said. City staff estimated the fee would be assessed per household unit and that a typical single-family homeowner with a $350,000 home would see a net increase of about $49 in their overall 2026 bill after the levy reduction (figures staff described as estimates and subject to change).

The fee is intended to cover the city’s contract for residential collection and disposal and to give the city a mechanism to adjust revenues for rising costs instead of…