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Riverton council adopts 'estimate 2' sanitation fee schedule, breaks out recycling on bills
Summary
Riverton City Council voted to adopt 'estimate 2' to revise sanitation fees and separately show recycling charges on utility bills. The plan breaks out a recycling fee and raises charges for additional garbage containers; one council member voted no.
Riverton City Council voted to adopt the sanitation fee schedule labeled "estimate 2," which separates recycling from garbage on the utility bill and adjusts charges to reduce the enterprise fund shortfall.
Staff framed estimate 2 as the "$2 across everything" option proposed by Councilmember McKay: the plan would separately bill first-garbage and first-recycle rather than a combined single line. Under the plan presented, the first garbage fee would be set at $10 and the first recycling fee at $5 (a combined $15 for a typical single-garbage, single-recycle household). Staff estimated additional garbage fees would increase from $7 to $9 and additional recycling from $5 to $7. Staff said the structure would largely move the sanitation enterprise fund closer to break-even while minimizing large increases for the relatively small share of households with multiple extra cans.
Councilmembers debated distributional effects. Supporters said estimate 2 spreads the cost more evenly and increases transparency by showing recycling as a separate line. Councilmember McKay said the city should also pursue contamination-reduction education so curbside recycling remains effective; she also described a recycling facility tour where staff explained that cardboard, aluminum and certain glass materials are still being recycled locally.
Opponents favored a tiered alternative (presented as estimate 4) that would place more of the cost on households with multiple additional cans. Councilmember Perucci recorded a "no" vote on the motion to adopt estimate 2; other recorded votes were in favor. Staff said they will include the chosen fee schedule in public notice for the June 3 fee-schedule hearing.
Ending: The council directed staff to publish notice of the new fee schedule for the June 3 public hearing and prepare final ordinance language; staff will monitor cancellations and fund-balance impacts once the new billing structure is implemented.
