Proposed fee hike would be used to modernize waste systems

A proposed hike in waste utility fees will be used to fund the city’s efforts to modernize its garbage and recycling systems if council approves the annual 2.5 per cent increase for the next four years.

That means a single-family home will pay an additional $1.15 per month on its waste utility fee starting next year. For multi-unit homes, the increase is $0.75 per month. The increase would add an additional $5-million annually to the existing $189 million in revenue it gets from ratepayers every year.

The proposed spending and rate increases got approval from city council’s utility committee Friday, but councillors were left mulling comments from city utility adviser James Beckett that it might be time to consider contracting out all of the waste collection work.

Currently, half of the city ’s waste collection is done in-house, and half is done by contractors. The idea behind the practice is that the split keeps costs and service levels on both sides in check.

But following up on questions by Ward 10 Coun. Michael Walters, Beckett told the committee that it’s a problem if city crews aren’t doing the same work more cheaply than private contractors, because those businesses also have to generate revenue and pay income taxes — neither of which the city needs to worry about.

“If the city collection costs are not lower than the contractor costs, it’s time to have another look at that,” said Beckett.

Walters said he’s seen some amazing waste services in other cities that are fully private, and that perhaps the city needs to be more “agnostic” about how it reaches its goals.

“We should look at it again,” Walters said, adding that he’d have to think about the best way to look into the issue.

Walters and other councillors on the committee pressed the utility ’s administration on the need to raise rates for Edmontonians who are already facing potential property tax jumps.

Ward 8 Coun. Ben Henderson said, after getting a chance to ask questions, he thinks the waste utility’s proposed rate increase is being made responsibly.

“They’ve worked pretty hard to get that number down given that we’ve got some big capital expenses that we know are coming up,” he said.

Even though the rate increases aren’t as high as in previous budget cycles, a number of capital projects require cash to pay for the utility ’s efforts to modernize the way Edmonton deals with waste. In the coming years, cash is needed to reset the system of source-separated organics, to fix the composter, modernize the garbage collection vehicles, and to achieve waste diversion goals that went by the wayside in recent years.

City council will vote on whether or not to approve the proposed waste utility budget and attached rate increases later this year when they also debate the 2019-2022 city operating and budgets for operations, and for building and renewal.

If the city collection costs are not lower than the contractor costs, it’s time to have another look at that.