CalMet raises fees for trash pick-up

DOWNEY - CalMet Services, the city's franchised refuse hauler, received permission from the City Council this week to increase its rates for residential and commercial customers.The new rates went into effect Wednesday. Rates increased $1.25 per month for single-family homes, and $1.20 for multi-family residences with 2-4 units. Commercial businesses and multi-family dwellings with more than five units will pay an additional 6.8 percent monthly. All rates for temporary services also increased 6.8 percent. The rate hikes will help CalMet recoup a reported loss of revenue totaling more than $164,000 because the fee increases did not go into effect at the contractually provided April 1. City officials said "inconsistencies in the ...submittals received from CalMet and the required effort to access accurate data necessary for calculation of the justified rate adjustments" led to the delay. Residents should see their trash bills decrease slightly in April 2012, when the "payback adjustments" expire. CalMet's contract with the city of Downey was ratified in 2006 and extended an additional seven years in 2009. The agreement allows CalMet to initiate annual rate hikes based on several factors, including labor rates, fuel prices, disposal costs and the Consumer Price Index, among other reasons. The city has scheduled a "cost of service study" next year to determine "an acceptable level of profit (for CalMet), and thereby, recommend adjusting the rates accordingly," city officials wrote in a report.

********** Published: August 11, 2011 - Volume 10 - Issue 17