Sonora, CA — Sonora city garbage rates will jump by 53 cents bringing the total bill to $22.76 each month. This week the City Council approved a 2.38 percent jump in the Cal Sierra, a subsidiary of Waste Management, trash collection rate. That means nearly 1000 residential and 287 commercial customers will pay $6.36 more a year. The rates are based upon the Consumer Price Index (CPI) which is part of the City’s Franchise Agreement.
City Administrator Tim Miller says, “The way the agreement is written, Cal Sierra is eligible to make that request and if they do the city is obligated to grant it as long as it meets the requirements that are specified based on the CPI.”
The agreement allows Cal Sierra to seek an increase each year. General Manager Tom Teach says that allows them to manage rate increases better. “What we do is we look at what the costs are basically for the San Francisco, San Jose/Oakland area because that’s the closest one to us, and what the cost of goods have gone up there over a three year period. If they’ve gone up, that’s applied to an increase that we put in. That way we kind of keep up with any inflation or additional cost rather than letting it go three or five years and then all of a sudden we’re looking at a seven or eight percent increase,” said Teach.
Customers will begin seeing the rate hike on their September bill.
Sonora, CA — Sonora city garbage rates will jump by 53 cents bringing the total bill to $22.76 each month. This week the City Council approved a 2.38 percent jump in the Cal Sierra, a subsidiary of Waste Management, trash collection rate. That means nearly 1000 residential and 287 commercial customers will pay $6.36 more a year. The rates are based upon the Consumer Price Index (CPI) which is part of the City’s Franchise Agreement.
City Administrator Tim Miller says, “The way the agreement is written, Cal Sierra is eligible to make that request and if they do the city is obligated to grant it as long as it meets the requirements that are specified based on the CPI.”
The agreement allows Cal Sierra to seek an increase each year. General Manager Tom Teach says that allows them to manage rate increases better. “What we do is we look at what the costs are basically for the San Francisco, San Jose/Oakland area because that’s the closest one to us, and what the cost of goods have gone up there over a three year period. If they’ve gone up, that’s applied to an increase that we put in. That way we kind of keep up with any inflation or additional cost rather than letting it go three or five years and then all of a sudden we’re looking at a seven or eight percent increase,” said Teach.
Customers will begin seeing the rate hike on their September bill.
Written by Tracey Petersen.
Sign up for our Breaking News Alerts and the myMotherLode.com Daily Newsletters by clicking here. Report breaking news, traffic or weather to our News Hotline (209) 532-6397. Send Mother Lode News Story photos to news@clarkebroadcasting.com.