Solid Waste director proposes 9.8% rate increase to close FY27 budget gap

Shikha Gupta, the city’s Solid Waste Services director, told the City Council that her department faces an $8.47 million budget shortfall for fiscal year 2027 and recommended a 9.8% rate increase — about $2.55 per account — to help close the gap.

Gupta, who said she joined the city three months ago, described the department’s scope (garbage, recycling and yard‑waste collection for about 129,000 households, roughly 32,000 weekly service stops and service to downtown and multi‑family customers). She highlighted recent accomplishments including a new dynamic 20+ year forecasting rate model and a food‑waste processing pilot launched Jan. 5, 2026, whose final report is expected in mid‑July.

Why it matters: Solid Waste is moving from seasonal leaf collections to year‑round weekly yard‑waste service and a yard‑waste enhancement transition the council approved in June 2026. Those operational changes require more staff, vehicles and processing capacity and are the primary drivers of the personnel and fleet cost increases Gupta cited.

Gupta outlined the rate and fee changes she is proposing: a 9.8% overall rate adjustment (presented as $2.55 per account), a $10 increase to the yard‑waste center tip fee and a corresponding increase in the residential minimum fee so the minimum reflects the cost of processing approximately half a ton of material. She said the proposed rate package would produce about $4.6 million of the needed revenue and that staff would use a fund‑balance appropriation to balance the remainder while testing billing changes and notifying customers prior to final budget adoption.

Council members asked detailed operational and equity questions. Council Member Branch asked whether the department has the staffing needed to keep pace with city growth; Gupta said a recent staffing study informed planned hires and that the current year’s budget focuses first on staffing to roll out yard‑waste enhancements. On automation, Gupta said the department is piloting paperless routing and other efficiencies.

Several councilors pressed on customer assistance for residents who cannot move leaves or carts. Gupta and staff said an existing assistance program and back‑door pickup remain available for approved residents and that staff are exploring ways to streamline eligibility and outreach; residents not already enrolled must contact solid waste services or customer care for an assessment.

Councilors also sought financial details. Gupta said the city expects a reduction in yard‑waste revenue because transportation previously routed roughly 25% of leaves to an external processor; that change represents about $637,000 in reduced tip‑fee revenue. She confirmed that the bulky‑item pickup fee was raised to $35 but that the actual disposal cost is closer to $80 per pickup, and that the yard‑waste center’s historically low tip fees have limited cost recovery.

Gupta emphasized the food‑waste pilot — launched Jan. 5, 2026 — is not part of the FY27 operating budget but that its findings will inform whether the site should be converted to a permanent food‑waste processing facility and whether residential food‑waste collection should expand.

Next steps: Gupta urged the council to authorize staff to implement billing system tests and customer notifications; she said final rate approval will occur with adoption of the FY27 budget. The council requested supplemental material comparing Raleigh’s current service package and fees to neighboring municipalities and asked staff to provide multi‑year rate projections from the new enterprise model.

Quote (Gupta): "Today completes three months of my service with the city. So excited to be here." (Shikha Gupta, Solid Waste Services Director.)

The council did not take a vote on rates during the work session; final action is expected as part of the FY27 budget adoption process.