After months of warning residents that either garbage fees were going up or services were going down, DeKalb County now says neither will be needed – at least for this year.
Cost savings put the county $1.9 million below expected spending in just the first four months of the year, according to a recent county report. That should cover a projected $5 million shortfall for the year. And, it eliminates the immediate need to cut curbside trash pickup from twice weekly to once a week or charge another $40 a year for service.
Still, plans to move to weekly trash pickup remain on the table as the best way to hold the $265 annual sanitation fee steady for future years.
“We will still need citizen input, but for now, there are no changes,” Commissioner Stan Watson said.
More than 60 percent of residents favored reduced service over a fee hike, according to a survey by Kennesaw Research Center. Informal online surveys yielded similar results.
The county has kept its annual fee steady since 2006, largely from a recycling program that added years to life the landfill it owns on Seminole Road. Not having to pay to haul waste has also helped DeKalb keep its sanitation fee, which pays for trash pickup as well as recycling and yard waste collection, the lowest among large jurisdictions in the metro area.
Gwinnett County, for instance, charges $218 and $120 a year for limited trash and yard waste pickup, respectively. The recycling cost is embedded in the trash pickup fee.
DeKalb expects to release an updated report later this summer, revealing plans and ideas to help further reduce expenses for 2014.
For more information, see tomorrow’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution or read www.myajc.com.
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