Rates will probably rise in GR

It’s likely Green River residents will see an increase of $5 to $10, or even more, for the trash collection services provided by the city.

At the Green River City Council workshop Tuesday night, the Council had the opportunity to ask city employees any questions they wanted to about proposed solid waste rate increases, shutting down the landfill and opening the transfer station.

During the conversation about the rate increases, at first $5 to $10 amounts were mentioned, but later on in the workshop, Councilman Gary Killpack asked why they were going to raise the rates at $5 intervals and not just raise it by $12 or the full amount right away.

“If you’re going to change it, do it all,” Killpack said.

He said he’d rather have one bloody nose or black eye over the rate increase, than four black eyes or bloody noses.

City finance director Chris Meats said whatever number the Council decided on would be fine with him. It’s just a matter of completing the paperwork.

Meats explained why the costs at the landfill would continue to increase. With the unfunded mandates coming down on the city and its landfill, the cost of keeping a landfill would just continue to increase, which would then raise the residents’ rates.

It will cost the city less to build a transfer station, purchase a new front-load garbage truck and haul the garbage to Rock Springs, than it would cost to meet the mandates. It costs much less per ton to haul it to Rock Springs, then extend the landfill and bury it.

The residents aren’t going to like the rate increase. However, Meats said if the city were to keep the landfill and line it to meet the mandates, their rates would double or quadruple.

“It just make sense for us to get out of the landfill business,” Meats said.

The city is not only trying to save itself money, but the residents too.

Even though this was only a Council workshop and not a meeting, the Council voiced a consensus on raising the rates, a consensus wasn’t reached on how much should be raised at this time. All of that will take place at the Council’s regular meeting, which is Tuesday, March 21, at 7 p.m. in the city hall council chambers.

Meats said even if the Council approves a rate increase at the meeting, the rate increase will probably not show up on a resident’s bill until June. When a resident pays their utility bill, which includes trash collection, they are paying for the services provided the month before, which is why it may be until June before the rate increase appears on the bill.