In the Miami suburbs, trash days will be a bit more expensive this fall

Miami-Dade residents who rely on the county for trash pick-up will pay more in the fall after a Tuesday vote to increase garbage fees by about 4 percent.

The charge, added to property tax bills each year, goes into effect Oct. 1. The typical property will pay an extra $20 a year under the new fee schedule approved by Miami-Dade commissioners in a narrow vote.

Voting against the increases were commissioners Esteban “Steve” Bovo, Rebeca Sosa, Javier Souto and Xavier Suarez. Missing for the vote were Jose “Pepe” Diaz, Barbara Jordan, Joe Martinez and Jean Monestime.

The vote won’t be the end of fee increases, either. A memo from the county’s Solid Waste Department said the agency is still waiting on about $140 million of federal and state reimbursements for debris clean-up from 2017’s Hurricane Irma. That would leave Miami-Dade to pay about $10 million of the clean-up bill, and the extra money will come from customers. The memo said to expect a one-time fee in 2020 to close the gap.

For the new fees going into effect Oct. 1, Miami-Dade expects to generate about $6.8 million. That would pay for higher payroll costs from union contracts covering Solid Waste’s 1,100-person payroll.

A 2017 fee increase was supposed to generate enough money to balance the budget through 2020, but the memo said higher payroll costs and other expenses require more revenue.

The fees affect only homes that use the county for trash pick-up, including all of Miami-Dade’s unincorporated area. Cities with their own garbage service have a different rate structure. While most residents would see a $20 fee increase per year, some levels of service will only see $5 increases. In all, the higher fees affect about 333,000 properties countywide.

Carlos Florian, who lives in Northeast Miami-Dade, was one of several residents to urge the commissioners to keep county fees flat next year. “I have been paying high taxes,” he said. “I need help.”

This story was originally published June 18, 2019 at 5:46 PM.