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Council tweaks fee schedule, limits dumpster use and raises Bowery deposits
Summary
After a long discussion about program losses, the council kept neighborhood-dumpster fees unchanged for the year, limited dumpsters to one use per address annually and trailers to two uses, raised Bowery deposits and added a $100 floodplain permit to the consolidated fee schedule.
City public works staff presented proposed changes to the consolidated fee schedule on May 6, outlining operating losses for neighborhood dumpsters and trailer programs and recommending several fee and deposit increases. The presenter said the dumpster program costs the city roughly "$12,000 to $15,000" annually and noted a per-child statistic for other programs were unrelated; staff offered a menu of options including higher refundable deposits and changes to allowable annual uses.
After extended discussion about service goals, equity and administrative burden, council members agreed to keep the dumpster program’s fee structure in place for the current year while imposing a limit of one dumpster use per address per year and allowing green/mixed-use trailers up to two times per calendar year. They also agreed to increase Bowery refundable deposits (resident and nonresident tiers) and to add a $100 floodplain permit to the fee schedule.
Councilors expressed concern about both equity for low-income residents and the city fund hit from the program. The motion carried on a roll-call vote (majority yes, one no recorded). Staff will implement the use limits and publish the updated fee schedule.
