SIMI VALLEY : Collection Increases Sought by Haulers

Faced with a 14% hike in dumping fees at the Simi Valley landfill, officials in Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley are considering requests from haulers to increase garbage collection rates.

Dumping fees at the county landfill are scheduled to rise Jan. 1 from $30.10 a ton to $34.60 a ton, a jump that has triggered requests for a boost in rates from five east county trash haulers.

The Simi Valley City Council will consider a $1 increase Monday requested by two municipal haulers, G.I. Rubbish and Anderson Rubbish Disposal, said Jocelyn Reed, deputy director of environmental services.

About 25,700 Simi Valley residents pay $13 a month for trash collection.

In Thousand Oaks, three residential haulers have asked officials for an increase of $1 to $1.50, Steve Elam, deputy finance director, said. The City Council is expected to hold a public hearing Dec. 18 to set new rates.

About 30,500 residential customers in Thousand Oaks would be affected by the increase, Elam said. The city is served by Block, Conejo and Newbury disposal companies.

Owners of single-family residences pay $13.10 for collection, while occupants of multifamily homes pay $9.40.

If approved by officials in the two cities, the increase would be the third residential customers have seen within a year. Rates in both cities went up in July after the state imposed new fees for administering a state-mandated waste-reduction program, and in January because of increases in landfill fees.

The increases do not yet affect Moorpark, where officials are negotiating the city’s first franchise agreement with two haulers, said Susan Cauldwell, an assistant to the city manager. Nearly 7,000 residents pay $15.35 a month.

A Dec. 19 public hearing has been set to discuss the trash agreements with G. I. Rubbish and Anderson disposal.