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Dunsmuir council adopts first-year solid-waste rate increases after protests fall short
Summary
After staff counted 150 mailed protest ballots — well short of the 497 required to force repeal — the Dunsmuir City Council adopted an amended resolution to raise solid-waste rates effective Nov. 1, 2024, limiting increases to the first year and delaying further increases pending a new study.
The Dunsmuir City Council on Oct. 3 adopted Resolution 2024-07 to increase solid-waste service rates effective Nov. 1, 2024, after finding mailed protests were insufficient to block the change.
City staff reported they counted 150 protest ballots; a majority protest would have required 497 valid votes, the clerk said. Council members then moved the rate-resolution discussion forward, considered public testimony and a staff presentation, and approved a friendly amendment to limit the adoption to the near-term rate adjustments and remove the later-year increases that had been included in the consultant’s original five-year study.
City Manager Reese told the council the recommended short-term increase reflects the enterprise fund’s need to close a monthly shortfall driven primarily by higher contractor and tipping fees: “We are losing approximately between $7 and $8,000 a month,” Reese said. Staff provided the council with a rates table that sets the 65-gallon can at $31.14 effective 11/01/2024 (from $25.11) and lists adjusted amounts for other container sizes.
The council and members of the public debated the origins of the deficit, including past rate decisions and whether enterprise funds have been used to subsidize other services. Resident Adam Heilman and others urged a fresh study; one councilmember agreed a revised, forward-looking study should be completed within the year, but several members said adopting the first-year change now would slow ongoing losses.
The resolution, as adopted, includes the staff’s CEQA-exemption claim and directs the clerk to certify and post the action. Councilmembers described follow-up steps: commission a revised rate study, explore low-income assistance options outside Proposition 218’s single-rate constraints, and report back to the council before additional increases are considered.
