Charlotte City Council's Preliminary Decision on Trash
At its FY2017 Straw Vote yesterday (5/25/16), Charlotte City Council decided against a property tax increase and opted instead for an $8 increase to the annual garbage collection fee for both single-family and apartment homes. The additional revenue will help pay for additional police officers and fire fighters in Charlotte. Council will vote on the full budget on June 13.
Council members also agreed to conduct a comprehensive review of the City’s Solid Waste Services polices over the next year, including a study of a possible “full cost recovery” model for trash services for apartments. Implementation of such a model could be phased in over a 2-3 year period.
Yesterday’s Straw Vote result of an $8 annual trash service fee increase for all Charlotte residents, both single-family and multifamily, illustrates that Council members were responsive to the messages sent by GCAA, its members, and their residents. For now, apartment residents have been granted the same basic municipal services, at the same cost, as single-family dwellers.
GCAA urges its members to reach out to City Council, especially council members Julie Eiselt, Ed Driggs, LaWana Mayfield, James Mitchell, and Greg Phipps, to thank them for their responsiveness to our grassroots efforts, for their consideration of equitable service levels for apartment residents, and for minimizing the trash service fee increase to what equates to just 67 cents per month.
Local news coverage of the 5/25/16 City Council meeting follows below; for further information on this matter please email GCAA's Government Affairs Manager Bryan Holladay.