Council advances first reading to move garbage billing to city and change late-fee timing

The St. Paul City Council held a first reading (introduced under suspension of rules) of Ordinance 205-37, which would authorize the city to issue garbage bills directly to residents instead of billing through private haulers and change how late fees are assessed.

Public Works staff explained the principal changes: billing will shift from haulers to the City of St. Paul; late fees will be applied once annually at the point the unpaid balance is transferred to Ramsey County for tax assessment rather than as recurring quarterly late fees. Staff gave a worked example showing the new approach would reduce cumulative late fees for a medium cart from roughly $17.83 under quarterly consortium billing to about $6.40 under the new annual assessment model. Bills are scheduled to go out in July with a due date in August; the new process provides approximately 45 days before transfer to county assessment (30 days to pay plus a 15-day notice).

Council briefly discussed the ordinance’s effective date; Public Works confirmed an earlier effective date in the posted text was an error and staff consulted the city attorney to correct it so payment due dates align with procedural requirements. The initial reading was introduced under suspension so the required public hearing notice schedule could be maintained; the council laid the ordinance over to the June 25 meeting for second reading and public hearing.

The ordinance, if adopted, will route delinquent garbage charges through the city and county tax process and change the timing and assessment of late fees; staff said the percentage late fee rate remains unchanged (5.5%) but will be applied once when transferred to the county.