DIDSBURY - Effective April 1, town residents will see the fee for garbage collection go up to $22.50/month from $21/month.
At its regular council meeting on Jan. 22, council voted for the hike based on a recommendation from administration.
"The town looks at all costs when considering the rates for these services and one that impacted the rate was the fee charged by Mountain View Regional Waste Management Commission (MVRWMC)," said Amanda Riley, the Town of Didsbury's chief financial officer.
Administration's briefing memo stated that the town is a member of the waste commission and as part of its agreement, the town is charged a per capita rate based on a funding formula. The annual per capita fee charged by the commission to the town increased from $13.03 to $34.67 effective Jan. 1.
The total annual fee is now $182,589 up from $68,642 in 2018.
Council also received information from administration about different options for curbside waste and recycling pickup and disposal. Council requested the information during the Nov. 22 regular council meeting.
The town has an agreement with Can Pak for the collection of solid waste, compost and recycling, which does not expire until April 2021. The town has an agreement with MVRWMC to take the waste, said Riley.
Mayor Rhonda Hunter said council made the request in response to the increase in fees for services to member municipalities from MVRWMC.
"This increase went from $13.03 to $34.67 per Didsbury household, almost triple of last year's," said Hunter. "This council will always look for ways to keep such costs under control and we asked administration to bring us back information to consider. I am not convinced that we are done with this discussion, and will await and review reports on costs going forward."
