By Tim Pallesen
Delray Beach residents will see a savings in their garbage collection fee this month as the city switches its garbage hauler to Southern Waste Systems.
Garbage bills will go even lower next month as the city refunds a surplus collected for garbage carts.
Southern Waste Systems beat out the city’s previous garbage hauler, Waste Management, in competitive bidding for the city franchise.
As a result, the monthly garbage pickup fee for most residential customers will drop from $12.72 to $9.75 starting June 1. City commissioners approved the new rates on May 19.
Commissioners also directed staff at a May 5 meeting to return a $1.7 million surplus that the city has been charging as a 90-cent monthly fee for garbage carts.
Starting in August, refunds of $12.84 a month for four months will appear on the bills that residents pay for water, sewer and garbage.
The refunds resulted after City Commissioner Shelly Petrolia first questioned the unused money in 2013. The cart fee has been charged since 1997.
The garbage hauler now pays for carts.
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