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- Mona residents can expect to see increase in charge for garbage cans
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By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
Those Mona residents who have two garbage cans at their house may expect a $1.50 increase in the charge for that second can and all residents will pay $1 more per can per month.
Solid waste pickup and disposal fees for town and for county residents have been billed at $14 per can. Beginning with the next city billing residents will be billed at $15 per can and the second can will now cost $10.
"Last year," said Everd Squire, city finance director, "in the sanitation category, $45,000 was revenue and $57,000 was expense."
That includes the cost of the dumpsters at the sewer treatment plant.
"We are paying $6 per month per can to JRDA (Juab Rural Development Agency) for the landfill use ," said Greg Newton, mayor. "We need to stay revenue neutral but we are paying out more than we collect."
From that $14, Mechams are also paid to collect the garbage and haul it to the landfill.
"The costs do fluctuate from year to year," said Michelle Dalton, city secretary/treasurer, "but we have been collecting $14 per can for the past 16 years."
Squire said that $7,700 for the green waste site was also part of the city sanitation expense. Supplies cost $1,132 and those were not reimbursed. However, wages for the employee at the site were paid by JRDA.
Jonathan Jones, council member, asked what had happened with the fee for the cans that were used by county residents. The council recently discussed the collection fee for county cans with Jay Mecham, owner of Mechams Country Garbage.
"If those county residents have city utilities, I bill them for their garbage collection," said Dalton. "If they don't have city utilities, then Jay Mecham bills them."
Squire said that the city uses $1 out of the $14 collection fee to pay for the cans which the city purchases and dispenses. It cost the city $4,400 for the new collection cans the city had to purchase and last year the cans had to be ordered two times to keep up with demand.
"We purchase 25 cans at a time," said Dalton.
Katrina Long, council member, said that the new move-ins or owners of new homes should pay the cost of the first can. Replacements, as the cans wear out, would then be paid for by the city.
Those with a second can have been paying $8.50 for collection of the second can. Not all of those with two cans are paying for the second can because the city does not know that the resident has two cans.
Some people have two cans but they helped themselves to that second can and there is not a record of it being assigned to a particular residence so no payment is made. Others may keep the second damaged can and continue to use it as well as the replacement can.
The city needs to find a way to learn which homes have two cans. A count of cans could be done and the easiest way would be to ask the collector from Country Garbage to count the second can as he collects garbage.
"There are 469 water connections in the city," said Dalton.
Squire said that, according to the city's records, 43 homes had a second can.
It is also expensive to replace cans.
The earlier cans that the city purchased had not been well-constructed and were breaking.
"We now get the cans from Brigham City," said Dalton. "Those cans are more expensive and cost $90 per can."
"We were in the hole last year," said Long, "and we can already see that we are losing ground this year."
Squire said that if the city just started collecting $10 per second can, the city could recoup $6,600 and that would help pay the bill.
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