Controller proposes lower increases than Recology for 2026–2028; commission backs Environment Department request for additional impound funding

San Francisco's Refuse Rate Administrator presented an updated refuse rate proposal April 28 that lowers parts of Recology's requested increases for the October 2025–September 2028 rate period and recommends new funding for environmental programs and regulatory controls. The Commission on the Environment then voted to approve a resolution supporting the Environment Department's funding request for the impound account.

What the controller proposed: Jay Liao, refuse rates administrator in the Controller's Office, said Recology had filed a multi‑year rate application and the controller's staff adjusted several of the requested increases. For rate year 2026, Recology proposed an 18.18% increase; the controller's proposal reduced that to 12.59% (a 5.6 percentage‑point reduction). The controller reported that, cumulatively across the three proposed rate years, the administrator's proposal represented roughly $50 million in rate savings compared to Recology's original request and equated to an approximate $2–3 per month reduction for a single‑family household compared with the company's proposal.

Context and prior adjustments: Liao reminded commissioners that a $23 million material error discovered in prior reporting had been rebated to ratepayers and adjusted the prior rate base. He also listed structural…