PowerPoint Presentation

Solid Waste 
Residential Rate Discussion

Presentation Overview
•Solid Waste Rate History
•Services Provided
•Innovations and Efficiencies
•Rate Objectives
•Cost of Providing Services 
•Options
2

Residential Rate History
•January 1, 2005 – Adjusted from $14.50 to $14.90​
•July 1, 2008 – Adjusted from $14.90 to $16.30
–Proposed increase to $17.55 in Fiscal Year 2010 was 
not adopted
•October 24, 2017 – Rate adjustment approved
–January 2018 – Increased from $16.30 to $19.05
–January 2019 – Increased from $19.05 to $21.80
3

Residential Rate History 
4
2017 Key Outreach Results Residential Solid Waste 
From 
Sep. 
2017 
Council 
Meeting

Residential Services Provided
• Weekly refuse collection (95 and 300 gallon containers)
• Weekly recycling collection (95 gallon containers)
• Repair and replacement of damaged containers
5

Residential Services Provided
• MONTHLY bulk trash collection
• Monthly Residential street sweeping increased to follow 
bulk trash schedule (effective September 2021)
• Litter Patrol Services (maintain main arterial routes to 
landfill & illegal dumping)
• Illegal Dumping Collection Team (added July 2021)
6

Recycling Survey Results
• 83% indicate recycling is “Very important” or “Important.”
• 91% are willing to pay more for recycling.
• 96% rate their services as either “Very Good” or “Good.”
• Key facts of June 2021 Council Workshop Presentation:
• 7,267 surveys submitted.
• Represents 13% of 55,440 households
7

Residential Services Provided Compared
How do we measure up?
City
Services Provided
Base Rate per month per house
Additional Container rate
Phoenix**
Basic service and quarterly bulk trash
$33.80
$16.90
Tempe**
Basic service and monthly bulk trash
$29.57
$18.28
Mesa**
Basic service and an additional fee for bulk trash
$29.34
$13.85
Glendale
Basic service, monthly bulk trash, monthly street 
sweeping, litter patrol services and illegal dumping team
$21.80
$6.67
Scottsdale
Basic service and monthly bulk trash
$21.51
$10.60
Avondale** Basic service and monthly bulk trash
$20.00
$12.00 
** Planning to increase rates soon
8

Innovations and Efficiencies
9
• Technology identified to continually improve operations
–Route enhancements
–Public facing Web tools
• Recycling/sorting game
• Recycle wizard
• Interactive Bulk Pickup Status Viewer
• Equipment replacement schedule 
–Maintain appropriate lifecycle schedule

Residential Rate Objectives
• Keep the rates fair and reasonable
• Provide revenue stability
• Meet financial targets
• Maintain efficient fleet
10

FY20 Cost Per Residential Services
$21.80 current rate
$23.77 cost of service
$1.97 not recovered
11

Major Cost Factors
Major Drivers
FY17
FY20
$ Increase
% Difference
Salaries & Benefits
$3,935,395
$4,689,049
$753,654
19%
Landfill Cost
$1,593,496 $2,018,935
$425,439
27%
Equipment Maintenance
$1,526,000 $2,793,000 $1,267,000
83%
Equipment Replacement 
(refuse trucks)
$262,500 
each 
$325,000 
each 
$62,500 
each
24%
Insurance/Indirect Costs
$317,795
$489,143
$171,348
54%
12

COVID19 Impact
•Demand for Service
•Cost of Supplies and Services
•Impact to Staff
13

COVID19 Impact
Bulk Trash Tonnage Trend
Projected
14

Current Residential Services Budget Projections
15
-$15,156,957
5-Year Total 
Projected 
Impact to Fund
-$3,772,574
-$3,380,655
-$2,299,185
-$2,640,376
-$3,064,167

Potential Rate Adjustment Options
16

Option 1 
Year
Option 1
Increase Amount
New Monthly Base Rate
2022
$1.20
$23.00
2023
$1.20
$24.20
2024
$1.20
$25.40
2025
$1.20
$26.60
2026
$1.20
$27.80
17

Option 1 Impact over 5 years
18
-$2,638,625
-$1,315,041
$714,212
$1,339,638
$1,901,105
$1,290
5-Year Total 
Projected Impact to 
Fund

Year
Option 2
Increase Amount
New Monthly Base Rate
2022
$1.75
$23.55
2023
$1.25
$24.80
2024
$1.00
$25.80
2025
$1.00
$26.80
2026
$.90
$27.70
Option 2 
19

Option 2 Impact over 5 years
-$2,251,812
-$888,843
$1,001,185
$1,484,560
$1,827,919
$1,173,009
5-Year Total 
Projected Impact to 
Fund
20

Year
Option 3
Increase Amount
New Monthly Base Rate
2022
$3.00
$24.80
2023
$0.75
$25.55
2024
$0.75
$26.30
2025
$0.70
$27.00
2026
$0.65
$27.65
Option 3 
21

Option 3 Impact over 5 years
$3,051,920
-$1,372,692
-$356,097
$1,359,901
$1,629,481
$1,791,327
5-Year Total 
Projected Impact to 
Fund
22

Year
Extra Container Fee
Increase Amount
New Monthly Base Rate
2022
$2.03
$8.70
2023
$1.54
$10.25
2024
$1.01
$11.26
2025
$1.01
$12.27
2026
$1.01
$13.28
Extra Container Fee
23

Summary 
•Citizens are pleased with the services
•Solid Waste costs are consistently trending upward
•Innovations and Efficiencies assist in keeping operational cost 
as low as possible
•Rate Objectives are reasonable and fair
•Options provide for support of future unknowns and growth
•Extra container fee applies to all three options
24

Staff Recommendation
•Option 2 Rate Increase
•Extra Container Fee Increase
25