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East Grand Forks considers first increase in trash fees since 2015
Jun. 10—EAST GRAND FORKS — The East Grand Forks City Council on Tuesday considered the first increases to residential trash fees in more than a decade.
The need to increase the fees is quite pressing, East Grand Forks Public Works Director Jason Stordahl told the council during Tuesday's work session, as the city's refuse fund is nearing unsustainable low levels.
"City Council has kept rates for services very low in the last few years," Stordahl said. "The reason that we're bringing this before you tonight is that our refuse enterprise (fund) balance is shrinking and we need to raise the rates."
The last rate increase was in 2015. Since then, landfill fees have increased by 22% and fees for refuse and recycling have increased by 61%. Raising the rates would eventually close the gap between what the city is charged and what the city charges residents for trash collection.
Currently, a 35-gallon container with recycling services costs a resident $13. The city is charged $15.45 for that from Countrywide Sanitation, the company with which the city contracts for residential curbside pickup. Per the contract City Council agreed to last year,
that rate will increase to $16.07 on July 1 and 4% each year after.
That $2.45 gap is covered from the reserve balance in the refuse enterprise fund. After doing this for a decade, the fund has been depleted.
To bring the fees back up to what it actually costs to pick up trash, Public Works has proposed incremental increases to the rates over the next year. Under the proposed structure, a 35-gallon container with recycling services would increase to $16.33 in July, $19.67 in January 2026, and finally to $23 in July 2026. At that point, the fees would then be reviewed on an annual basis.
"It's going to take a while (to build up reserves again)," Mayor Mark Olstad said. "That's something we have to be cognizant of, trying to make sure that by statutory reasons, we get that backup."
Public Works also will be bringing forward a review of commercial rates in the near future. Unlike residential services, the city collects the trash from commercial buildings and doesn't contract that service out. Potentially having the city also go into residential collection is something to consider as a potential cost savings, City Council member Don Casmey said.
Additionally, revamping how Greensite fees work is being discussed. Rather than having a separate, additional fee, it's being proposed that everyone is charged a fee. That would also mean that all residents could use the site instead of only those who pay a fee to use it. Often, access to the site is broken or troublesome with "never-ending" issues for Public Works and actually policing who is and is not using the site is difficult under the current system.
In other news, the council:
* Received updates about the Safe Streets for All Safety Action Plan.
Public comment on a final draft of the plan will open June 16
and both the Grand Forks City Council and East Grand Forks City Council are proposing to have a joint meeting in July to provide comment as a group.
* Discussed authorizing the creation of designs for the renovation of Fire Station No. 2. Located at 243 Fifth Ave. SE in the South Point area, the last renovations occurred to repair damage after the Flood of 1997, but it hasn't seen any other work since it was built in 1977. Structurally, the building is fine,
but the mechanicals are reaching end of life and it has accessibility issues
. Council President Brian Larson said staff should also look into material remediation to see if there's asbestos in the building.
* Reviewed plans to drill soil borings near the Point Bridge in preparation for a rehabilitation project. An in-depth study of issues with settling and sliding has not been done in some time, City Engineer Steve Emery said, and doing these borings will allow the city to figure out the best way to eliminate the dip the road takes.
