Los Altos residents are wondering why their garbage rates went up 13.13 percent at almost the same time their neighbors in unincorporated Los Altos and Los Altos Hills saw theirs come down. Same company. Same garbage. What's the deal?
Partly, it's philosophy.
The county negotiates rates with the Los Altos Garbage Company for the out-of-city folk. Supervisor Joe Simitian, who represents the north county on the board of supervisors, wanted some way of rewarding the one-can user for keeping a lid on his trash, so to speak.
And he wanted, he said, to "build in incentives to recycle."
So he negotiated a restructured fee schedule. The first can costs slightly less than the second can. The one-can rate is $21.38; the two-can rate is $43.76, which makes the second can cost $22.38. This includes backyard service.
Not much difference. But "people have a cash payback for their effort," Simitian said.
City officials are quick to point out that even with the rate reduction, "our rates are still less and are a heck of a deal" at $19.85 per month for a one-can user, said Bruce Bane, Los Altos director of public works. This is for curbside service.
Here's where the philosophy difference kicks in. In the city, two cans cost twice what a one-can user pays.
"Everybody should pay for recycling," said Phil Rose, Los Altos City Manager. "Everybody should pay for the cost of service." One group should not be subsidizing another, Rose said.
Here's a breakdown of the 13.13 percent increase for city residents.
First, Bane said, "the real increase is 8.4 percent." Of the remainder, 3.47 percent of the 13.13 is for what the garbage company lost while waiting for their increase since last June when they first asked, Bane said. The city council authorized an audit of the garbage company before OK'ing a rate hike.
The increase came seven months later. "That's what it takes to make up for lost revenue," Bane said. That part of the increase does go away July 1, 2000.
The company didn't want to have to come back in just a few months to ask for another increase. So the city OK'd an additional 2 percent, which will be effective in July.
"And we began collecting it five months early," Bane said. To amortize it over 17 months, instead of 12, is 1.26 of that 13.13 percent increase.
It adds up - 8.4 percent increase plus a 3.47 retroactive increase plus a 1.26 future increase - 13.13 percent.