The Kennesaw City Council approved the 2017-18 budget on Sept. 18 that includes two monthly fee increases at $3 each per household - one for sanitation, the other for street lights.
For the past two years, Republic Services has experienced cost increases related to dumping fees, landfill costs, fuel and overall operating costs, according to a city statement.
Kennesaw absorbed the increase passed on last year, but this year the Council approved raising sanitation fees to customers at $3 per month to begin in October with the first billing at the higher rate occurring in November since the city bills one month in arrears.
Residents will be notified of the increase in their October billing statements. Related information also will be placed on the city website.
A first-time fee will be $3 monthly for street lights, beginning in January 2018, to be included on sanitation bills.
This fee will be used to pay for a Quality of Life Initiative to hire more code enforcement officers and purchase needed equipment to address code violations, including vacant structures, overgrown grass, illegally parked vehicles and housing violations related to the number of nonrelated people living in a single structure.
Kennesaw’s costs to maintain street lights are about $310,000 each year.
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