Angelenos Face Major Fee Increase To Fill $B Budget Shortfall

LOS ANGELES, CA — The Los Angeles City Council Friday will consider a plan to increase trash collection fees, the first rate adjustment in 17 years, as part of attempts to close a nearly $1 billion budget shortfall.

The increase would raise the monthly fee for single-family homes and duplex buildings for what is formally known as the Solid Resources Program from $36.32 to $55.94, a 54% increase. The rate for apartments with three to four units would go from $24.33 per month to $55.94, a 130% increase.

Customers' bi-monthly bill from the Department of Water and Power could jump to $111.90 if the rate adjustment moves forward. City officials aim to begin the fee increase on Jan. 1, 2026, but there's a call to implement it sooner.

If the City Council approves the plan, city lawyers will need to draft an ordinance and outreach will be necessary to inform ratepayers.

The proposal also calls for another 18% increase over the next four fiscal years, reaching $65.93 a month by the 2029-30 fiscal year. Rate adjustments would impact approximately 743,000 households, and another 473,000 residencies that receive bulky item collection services.

Barbara Romero, general manager of the Bureau of Sanitation, also known as LA Sanitation and Environment or LASAN, said the program has operated at a loss that requires a subsidy from the general fund.

According to a fee study conducted by HF&H Consultants, the new rates would reduce a general fund subsidy for the program.

"It's clear to me that we can't continue to subsidize the solid waste program with general fund dollars. It's not responsible budgeting, especially as we stare down a billion-dollar deficit," Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky said Wednesday.

Additionally, officials noted the fee increase would generate more than $200 million in a full calendar year.

Romero cited inflation, expenditures such as staff salaries, maintaining vehicles and equipment, as well as overhead costs for the rate adjustment.

It would also help the city comply with SB 1383, which requires that 75% of organic waste be diverted from landfills. In 2023, the city began its Organics Recycling Program to divert organic food scrapes and food-soiled paper products from landfills by placing such waste into green containers.

The program collected a daily average of 720 tons of recyclables, 1,610 tons of organic waste, 15 tons of manure and 3,910 tons of residual waste in the 2023-24 fiscal year.

The annual cost of the program is approximately $66 million.

LASAN has a fleet of 720 heavy-duty vehicles to drive around collecting trash from the San Fernando Valley, West Los Angeles, North Central, South Los Angeles and Harbor Area.

City Council members on the public works and energy committees, which approved the proposal, expressed frustration about passing increased rates to their constituents but insisted it had to be done. They also encouraged LASAN to "perfect" their messaging around this potential change.

"We need to update and get the cost recovery on these fees," Councilwoman Ysabel Jurado said. "But I also recognize the sticker shock of these increases for a lot of Angelenos."
The Bureau of Sanitation would be expected to start an expansive outreach campaign with webinars, advertisements and pop-up events. Ballots would also be mailed to impacted residents later in the process.

Jack Humphreville, a member of the Neighborhood Council Budget Advocates, a watchdog organization, in an interview with City News Service, criticized the city's plan, adding "It's just one thing after another."

"The problem is that they haven't given us any of the background information," Humphreville told CNS. "So, for example, why did the subsidy from the general fund to the Solid Resources Program go from $75 million to $225 million over a two-year period? That's a three-time increase. We don't have any financial information. We don't have any income statements. We don't have any balance sheets. How much debt do they have? There's nothing about the efficiency of their operations."

The rate adjustment is subject to Proposition 218, requiring two public hearings for impacted property owners.

Proposition 218 is a constitutional amendment that limits the methods by which local governments can levy taxes, fees and charges without taxpayer consent.

According to Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayer Association, which sponsored Prop 218 in 1996, the law has a "cost of service" requirement which restricts both the use of the funds as well as the amount of the fee for each property owner or fee payor.

Local governments must also mail information regarding the proposed fee to every property owner, hold a hearing at least 45 days after the mailing and reject the proposed fee if written protests are presented by a majority of the affected property owners.

"We will be watching the city to ensure compliance with both the substantive and procedural mandates of Prop 218," Coupal added.

When asked whether he believed that property owners would reject the fee increase, Humphreville said he would be surprised if they did because it's hard to get people to vote.

Last year, the city raised sewer fees too. At the time, the city clerk reported only 7,864 property owners filed written protests, formally opposing that rate increase, or just 1%, of more than 786,311 affect parcels.

He said he believes this scenario will repeat itself.

"This is just sanitation showing how poorly managed they are and how much they don't give a damn about the ratepayers," Humphreville said.

The city's plan to raise trash fees comes at a time when they face a nearly $1 billion deficit and are contemplating thousands of layoffs. Mayor Karen Bass is scheduled to release her proposed budget on April 21.

"L.A.'s mayor and City Council have mismanaged the city into a nearly $1 billion budget deficit through overspending, including recklessly agreeing to unaffordable labor contracts and through policies that have driven businesses out of the city, resulting in lower business tax and sales tax revenue," the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association said in a statement. "The mayor and City Council may want taxpayers to bail out Los Angeles, but it's more likely that taxpayers will bail out of Los Angeles."

City News Service