New Orleans approves $99 annual trash rate hike
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New Orleans offers curbside trash and recycling pickup. Photo: Chelsea Brasted/Axios
New Orleans residents will pay more for trash pickup, starting Oct. 1.
Why it matters: It's one of several rate hikes the City Council is advancing to help fill a multimillion-dollar budget hole.
The big picture: The City Council voted 6-1 to increase the sanitation rate for the first time in 15 years, adding $99 to residents' bills annually.
- The rate is tied to the cost of service and will be reevaluated every other January.
- Several Council members said the increase was necessary to avoid cutting other essential services.
- "These are the times when we have to make hard decisions to keep things afloat," Council president JP Morrell says.
The other side: Councilmember Jason Hughes voted against the measure, citing opposition from constituents.
- "I think that we need to go back to the drawing board and put our heads together and seek alternative solutions," he said in an Instagram post.
Zoom in: Before the vote, about a dozen residents voiced their opposition to the increase, saying residents shouldn't have to pay for City Hall's financial problems.
- Several people objected to paying more after the city cut trash pickup from twice a week to once a week.
- "This city has made it so hard to live here," said Susan Brady, who lives in the Bywater area. "I'm tired of being the go-to piggy bank."
What we're watching: Morrell raised the possibility of the administration renegotiating the garbage contracts, based on residents' feedback.
- Twice-weekly trash without recycling could be an option, he said, as could a cheaper plan with once-weekly trash and no recycling.
Zoom out: Officials are also looking at other ways to cut costs and raise funds for sanitation.
- They are working to verify a list of thousands of potentially duplicated or otherwise problematic addresses that the city pays contractors to service.
- They're also making sure that each unit in a duplex pays a separate sanitation fee.
- Councilmember Lesli Harris says she's interested in changing the rates for short-term rentals to make sure they are all paying the higher commercial rate, not a residential rate.
- She also wants to see more enforcement against illegal dumping.
Of note: Sanitation in the French Quarter is another big item.
- The neighborhood gets enhanced cleaning and daily trash pickup, which are subsidized by ratepayers citywide.
- Morrell said they are working with French Quarter groups to figure out how they can cover more of the fees.
The council also voted Thursday to increase the rates charged to parading Mardi Gras krewes.
- The fees will be charged to each krewe starting with Mardi Gras 2027 and break down to about $6.64 per rider, according to a city presentation.
- The council also introduced an ordinance that would raise more than 100 permit fees.