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Oregon City commissioners and franchisee agree to revise proposed trash-rate increase; staff to return with adjusted schedule
Summary
The city and franchisee B and B Leasing discussed a proposed 4.35% solid-waste rate increase and agreed to keep the 20‑gallon residential rate unchanged while shifting the needed increase to larger cans; staff will return with revised rates July 16 for an Aug. 1 effective date.
City staff and B and B Leasing presented a proposal on July 2 to adjust residential solid-waste and disposal rates and the commission gave direction to revise the rate schedule before final approval.
Dana Webb, Oregon City public works director, told commissioners the franchisee requested an overall 4.35% adjustment to residential rates and reviewed the legal and regional framework for solid-waste rates, including Oregon Revised Statutes governing solid-waste management and the Metro regional waste plan. “Within Oregon City, we are within that Metro boundary, so we fall under that regional waste plan,” Webb said.
Pam Bloom of B and B Leasing and Will Mathias, the company’s CFO, presented the proposed rates and local comparisons. Webb said Metro disposal rates are increasing 5.9% this year and that the city’s customer base is about 10,300 accounts; a little over 60% of customers are on 20‑ or 35‑gallon service.
Bloom described the company’s Recycle Plus service for hard‑to‑recycle items and said it is an opt‑in program that charges $2.50 per month plus $9.25 per collection. She said 56 Oregon City customers subscribe and average four collections a year.
Commissioners sought ways to encourage less waste. Commissioner Mike Mitchell proposed keeping the 20‑gallon residential rate at the current level and shifting the revenue impact of the proposed increase onto the largest container size. “Rather than 4.35% on all four sizes on residential, could we consider… leave the 20 where it is at today’s rates and take whatever amount that would have generated and add that onto the 95‑gallon?” Mitchell asked.
B and B said it could implement the change. “We definitely support that, and we can… revise the rates to push that cost from the 20 to the 95,” Will Mathias said.
The commissioners directed staff and the franchisee to return with a revised rate schedule at the July 16 meeting so rates could be effective Aug. 1. No final rate ordinance or resolution was adopted at the July 2 meeting; commissioners made a policy direction to revise the schedule and return for formal approval.
The discussion also covered recycling outreach, collection of household batteries and potential residential food‑waste programs through Clackamas County; staff said they would follow up with proposals and outreach plans.
Next steps are a revised rate schedule to be returned July 16 and a planned effective date of Aug. 1 pending formal approval.
