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Redlands adopts multi-year solid-waste rate increases after public hearing
Summary
The City of Redlands on Sept. 3 approved a schedule of solid-waste rate increases — 9% annually for 2025–2027 and 4% in 2028 — to cover rising operating and compliance costs; staff and consultants said reserves would otherwise run out and 48 written protests were received (insufficient to block the change).
The City of Redlands on Sept. 3 adopted Resolution No. 8627 to adjust solid-waste utility rates beginning Jan. 1, 2025, approving three years of 9% increases followed by a 4% increase in 2028.
Consultant Garth Schultz of R3 Consulting told the council the utility’s revenues at current rates are not sufficient to cover rising operating costs and anticipated compliance expenses, including new state organic-waste rules. "If you were not to adjust solid waste rates, your solid waste service fund and enterprise fund will run out of available reserves" before fiscal 2025–26, Schultz said. He recommended the four-year schedule as a way to spread costs and avoid future spikes.
The study presented sample bimonthly charges for common residential service: the typical 60‑gallon refuse subscription would rise from about $79 bimonthly now to roughly $86 bimonthly on Jan. 1, 2025, about $94 bimonthly in 2026 and approximately $106 bimonthly by Jan. 1, 2028 if the full schedule is implemented.
Residents urged caution. Kathleen Flynn, a longtime Redlands resident, told the council the fee structure is inequitable for singles and seniors and proposed options such as less-frequent pickup or alternative smaller services. Steve Rogers and other speakers warned of the affordability consequences for households on fixed incomes. Council members and staff acknowledged the impact and discussed existing utility-bill assistance funded by ARPA and the possibility of further outreach or program adjustments.
Staff and the Municipal Utilities Commission said part of the increases fund truck replacement, capital investments and compliance with SB 1383, the state organic-waste mandate. The consultant estimated the city will need roughly $480,000 per year to comply with the new organic-waste requirements.
City Clerk reported 48 written qualified protests submitted to the clerk’s office out of 19,538 properties that received Proposition 218 notices; that number falls well short of the majority protest threshold required to stop the rate adjustment. After deliberation, the council voted to adopt Resolution No. 8627, approving the four-year rate schedule. The increases take effect Jan. 1, 2025.
