JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville city councilman is recommending what he calls a “phased-in” approach to a proposed plan to increase trash pickup fees for homeowners, according to News4JAX news partner the Jacksonville Daily Record.
This is all in an effort to address a quickly growing loan the city has for hauling waste.
Carlucci is suggesting two options to handle the ballooning debt, which he presented during a meeting on Thursday.
According to the Record, the first option would be for the monthly pickup fee to jump to $20 at some point this year. And then go to $31 in 2026.
The second option would be for the fee to rise to $20 this year, $25 next year and then $31.25 in 2027.
Right now, Jacksonville homeowners pay $12.65 a month, which has been the case for trash pickup since 2010. City auditors say that is about a third of the entire cost for the service.
To pay for the rest, the city has essentially been borrowing money from public funding that it will have to pay back.
But Carlucci and the council auditor’s office say the debt continues to grow and could rise to about $95 million by September of this year. It is projected to surpass $500 million by 2031.
For context, the monthly fee in Jacksonville is significantly lower than other cities in Florida:
- Orlando is $22.55 a month
- Tampa is $38.23
- Daytona Beach is $28.68
- Tallahassee is $25.64
Carlucci’s proposal has not been voted on yet by city council as there are still a lot of committees it has to go through.