WEST FARGO — West Fargo taxpayers may soon have to schedule additional garbage pickup for bulky items instead of just putting them on the curb, thanks to a proposal that would change the city’s garbage processes while increasing rates.
West Fargo currently offers a garbage “follow truck” that essentially follows regular garbage trucks on daily routes to pick up additional items that are placed beside residents’ garbage bins. The follow truck can also pick up bulky items.
If the City Commission approves scrapping the follow truck, the city would still pick up additional garbage and bulky items, but residents would have to use a scheduling system that would be online or by phone. There would be 40 to 50 collections per day.
“The comprehensive service we have provided in the past is something many residents really enjoy having,” said Public Works Director Matt Andvik. “Going forward, we are going to try and make sure we still provide that service, just do it in a more efficient manner.”
For residents who often have more garbage set outside the regular 64-gallon bins, a new 96-gallon bin would be made available. Andvik said the majority of residents
who answered a public survey conducted last month
said they only put out a few additional bags each week that are picked up by the follow truck.
Andvik said rate hikes are needed to keep up with the increasing cost of providing garbage services. He said equipment costs are increasing and the third-party recycling contract has increased 3% each year for the past five years.
West Fargo last raised sanitation rates in 2019, when it cost the city $43 per ton to dispose of solid waste at the Fargo Landfill. It now costs $51 per ton.
“This rate increase is just to try and get us to where we need to be,” Andvik said.
Andvik is proposing three options for rate increases.
The first option would increase the monthly rates from $17.50 to $21, or $3.50, in 2024. For households who request a 96-gallon bin, it would cost $23 per month. Rates would continue to increase over the next five years, at the end of those five years reaching $29.34 per month for a 64-gallon garbage bin or $31.34 per month for a 96-month-gallon bin.
A second option would charge those with the 64-gallon bin $21 per month in 2024, $23.73 in 2025, $26.34 in 2026, $28.45 in 2027 and $29.87 in 2028. For a 96-gallon bin, it would cost $23 in 2024 and rise each year, ending at $31.87 by 2028.
The third option would put rates at $20.48 in 2024, with heavy increases in 2025 and 2026 but fewer percentage increases in 2027 and 2028, making the rate $28.52 in 2028 for those homes with the standard 64-gallon bin. The 96-gallon bins would be $22.48 in 2024 and go up to about $30.52 by 2028.
Andvik said staff currently favors the second option. Raising the rates would also give the public works department more funds in its reserves, he said.
“At the end of the proposed five-year rate schedule, we would have a reserve balance between $1.9 million and $2.3 million,” Andvik said. The reserves would be used for future expansion of buildings or needed equipment.
Commissioner Brad Olson said if the city would have raised garbage rates incrementally since 2019, new rate hikes would not be needed to keep up with costs.
“The rates are actually cheaper now than what they would have been had we followed through with our plan as we had,” Olson said. “To me, it makes more sense to have it planned out and stick to the plan.”
Commissioner Roben Anderson asked if there are other ways to address the rate increases or to propose a more inclusive tax increase instead of increasing fee by fee.
“I feel like we are nickel and diming our residents,” Anderson said, citing that the city raised other rates for residents earlier this year. “Instead of hitting residents multiple times a year, let’s do it once.”
Any changes to the garbage collection services would likely not take place for six months after City Commission approval.
“We want to make sure everybody is on the same page before we make any changes,” Andvik said. “Any abrupt changes usually do not go over well with the public.”
Along with those changes, public works would consider combining Friday and Wednesday residential collection routes. Andvik said this allows for double collection days to be avoided on holiday weeks. Recycling collection will then be able to follow garbage collection during holiday weeks.
“Friday is a larger commercial collection day and staff will be reallocated to collection, cart and equipment delivery and maintenance. With changes to the sizes of offered carts, we expect this to increase even more, needing…
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