Trash Fees Going Up in Lakeland Village, Unincorporated RivCo Communities

Riverside County supervisors Tuesday approved a roughly 2 percent increase in rates for trash collection in unincorporated communities.

In a 5-0 vote without comment, the Board of Supervisors gave four waste haulers -- Burrtec Waste, CR&R Inc., Desert Valley Disposal and Waste Management Inc. -- permission to hike their fees to keep pace with inflation.

According to county Department of Environmental Health Director Steve Van Stockum, the increase is relatively small, adding an average 35 cents per month to residents' bills.

The board adjusts refuse retrieval rates virtually every year. In the past, adjustments have been as high as 3 percent.

Last year, a .7 percent hike became a hotly debated issue after several Mead Valley residents complained to the board that Waste Management was tacking extra charges onto their bills after their properties were designated "hard-to- serve" even though the homes were not on hillsides or in isolated locations.

Supervisor Kevin Jeffries demanded answers from the company, whose spokeswoman admitted "errors" and assured the board that the deficiencies would be rectified. Within two months, more than 750 residences were reclassified to remove the additional cost burdens.Waste collection for the county occurs in "franchise areas," which currently number 13 and encompass a number of communities, including Cabazon, Desert Center, East Hemet, Lakeland Village, Thermal and Thousand Palms.

The inflationary adjustments to fees are based on fluctuations in the consumer price index for the Los Angeles metropolitan area between Jan. 1 and Dec. 30, 2015.

Most residents pay between $17.92 and $32.91 per month for service, according to county officials. The cost band for commercial accounts is $95 to $1,500 per month. Residents are generally billed quarterly.

In addition to the rate hike, the board Tuesday authorized a "processing charge" of $31.50 that will be added to the property tax bills of customers served by CR&R whose accounts are seriously in arrears.

— By City News Service. Image via Shutterstock.