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Council sets $10 residential sanitation fee after heated debate over impacts
Summary
After staff outlined equipment and staffing shortfalls and compared neighboring fees, the council voted to set a $10/month residential sanitation fee for a second reading, citing the need to attract CDL drivers and fund truck replacement. Some members raised concerns about impacts on fixed‑income residents.
Clarksville staff presented a sanitation-fee proposal aimed at stabilizing a stretched public works operation and funding truck replacement and driver recruitment.
Public Works Director Brad (S13) told the council that in 2025 the department documented “20,144,000 pounds of sanitation materials” and 1,701 service trips, and said aging trucks and a shortage of CDL drivers are creating operational risks, especially for winter plowing. He recommended a $15 monthly fee as the region’s lowest option, but councilors debated alternatives citing the burden on fixed‑income households.
Council members suggested options ranging from $5 to $15; after discussion a motion to set the fee at $10 per month passed and will return for a required second reading. The clerk/treasurer and finance staff noted the fee is intended to be a recurring revenue stream to allow timely equipment replacement and to make the sanitation operation more self-sustaining.
Councilors also asked staff to identify internal savings and to provide analyses showing how fee revenue would be allocated to equipment, pay scale adjustments and recruitment of qualified drivers.
