Ashcroft residents will see an increase on their utility bill in the new year, as the newly adjusted price for garbage pickup is introduced.
Council introduced Bylaw 785 at its Dec. 9 public meeting. The bylaw “to establish a system of solid waste removal” sets out fees and charges, types of waste not accepted, offences and other details for the mechanized system of weekly garbage removal that was introduced last January.
At that time, Council asked staff to undertake a cost analysis of the new system to see if the costs would have to be modified.
The service remains the same as it has been for the past year, but home owners will notice a different rate on their next utility bill of about $30 as the cost goes from $70 to $100 per cart. Another $17 per cart addition is planned for 2015.
The solid waste portion of the utility bill will be included in the 10 per cent discount that the Village offers for residents and businesses paying their bill before March 31, and seniors can get a 25 per cent discount as long as they qualify for the Home Owners Grant.
Residential containers are 240 Litres. Businesses pay $176 per (360 L) cart and $538 for commercial sized (1100 L) carts. There is no increase scheduled for those.
The Bylaw also outlines replacement costs for damaged carts - $75 plus taxes for the entire unit or $35 for just a lid, $20 to replace the wheels - for a residential cart. Replacement of a Business cart costs $100 plus taxes; a Commercial cart costs $600 plus taxes.
The Bylaw will be presented at Council’s first meeting in January for discussion and adoption.
Solid waste collection rates have remained the same since 1996.