![Palm Coast's garbage hauler, FCC Environmental, will get a 3.75 percent rate increase in line with inflation starting Oct. 1. The increase will be reflected in residents' utility bills. (© FlaglerLive)](https://i0.wp.com/flaglerlive.com/wp-content/uploads/fcc-environmental-2.jpg?resize=1000%2C638&ssl=1)
Gone are the years when your garbage rate stayed the same for five years at a time, as it did in those increments between 2007 and 2023 when Waste Pro was Palm Coast’s garbage hauler. When the city negotiated a contract with its new hauler in 2023, FCC Environmental, one of the contractual provisions was an annual increase based on the previous year’s inflation rate, if with a 4 percent cap.
The increase you’ll see on the garbage item in your utility bill starting in October: 3.75 percent. So your monthly cost will go from $32.32 to $33.53, a monthly increase of $1.21, an annual increase of $14.52. Don’t be surprised: the city has been raising your water and sewer rates in accordance with inflation for years. (It raised rates 3 percent last year.)
That utility-rate adjustment didn’t come up when city staff presented the utility budget to the council this morning, but it did when Public Works Director Matt Mancill presented the garbage hauling budget, surprising Mayor David Alfin.
“Significant increase. You all comfortable with that?” Alfin asked his colleagues. “It’s been explained, but I’m troubled by it. I don’t know that I have a solution for it, but it’s a big number.”
Exclusively fee-based, that fund is set up as its own “enterprise” fund, separately from the city’s general fund. Charges in 2023 totaled $15.3 million, growing to an estimated $17.2 million by the time this year ends, and projected to reach $18.6 million next year. That’s due to the city’s sharply increasing population. Between last year and this year, the city added 2,299 households or accounts (from 42,186 accounts to 44,485). Mancill is projecting a 12.2 percent budget increase, with every dollar in new revenue accounted for in expenses.
That raised questions for City Council member Theresa Pontieri, who asked for a more detailed breakdown of the operating expenditures. “What we continue to see year after year is, our revenues have gone up by 12.2 percent, and coincidentally our expenditures have also now gone up by 12.2 percent,” Pontieri said. “We are spending as much or more as we’re bringing in, and I think that there needs to be a change in mentality from that perspective.” Pontieri said she wasn’t referring only to the garbage-hauling contract, but to all divisions citywide.
“I get it, costs have gone up for the city just like they’ve gone up for the residents,” she said. “We are not immune from inflation. The city has experienced inflation just like everybody in this room and in their households. But we have to be stewards of the taxpayer dollars, so I think that it should be a policy of our city to say, You know what, even though the revenues went up by 12.2 percent, let’s see if we can keep the expenditure increase to 10 percent.” In the aggregate, department by department, that would add up to millions every year she said.
Mancill said the city doesn’t control the operational part of its contract with FCC Environmental. As their number of households go up, their costs go up, and the city passes on the revenue to the company. The only internal operations to Palm Coast’s budget amount to a solid waste supervisor and her inspector. The CPI adjustment, he said, was the result of previous experience with Waste Pro. “Towards the end of that contract, we ran into a lot of cost issues that affected levels of service for our residents,” Mancill said.
Pontieri assured him that her suggestions were not about him or a reflection of his management, but about citywide budgets.
FCC Environmental just won a contract in St. Johns County and in Clay County, after winning Sarasota County in March. Waste Pro is still the contractor in unincorporated Flagler County.
Dennis C Rathsam says
Lets thank the morons at City Hall, & the mayor from hell!
Romuald Flieger says
Another mistake on the local government with their contractional agreement. The town should eat this one.
R.S. says
It’s about time that we begin to meter the trash; I don’t like to have to pay the same sum as someone who has huge loads of trash hauled away while I’m lucky if I fill up one garbage can every two or three weeks. Other cities can do that; why not Palm Coast?
tjmelton says
Stewards of the taxpayers funds? Increased water, sewerage, garbage, & the mysterious storm water treatment fee? This now goes up every year? Outstanding fiscal management! Why not vote yourselves another raise,? Unlimited public official hubris. There is NO responsibility in this city.
Up To Our Necks says
Keep piling it on Palm Mayor and City Council. Your day of reckoning is almost here. The Primary is in 28 days, vote accordingly Palm Coasters!!
Mark says
Good going City Council, we don’t have wheeled containers nor can you get a second old fashioned recycling bin yet we’ll pay more.
rapscallion says
essentially admitting neither he nor anyone assisting him did their due diligence
Hjc says
A solid waste supervisor and her inspector. Maybe one of those positions could be eliminated that would possibly make sense. Many people are being forced to eliminate what they spend maybe all government offices need to follow the people’s example.
Jbeag says
We must vote them out !
We won’t be able to afford to live here!
The Sour Kraut says
FCC sucks. They often leave some trash uncollected. Waste Pro was so much better.
Looter says
Talk about a power move. Waste pro bought out Environmental Land Services which is our local dump. I’m pretty sure our new company has to truck the garbage all the way out into Daytona. And if there not I’m sure waste pro is taxing the heck out of them to dump there. I won’t be surprised if waste pro gets the contract back.
JimboXYZ says
I don’t envy FCC labor. The Alfin growth of transient renters, I’ve seen too many duplexes turn into their own temporary landfills. And it remains like that until those unfortunate workers have to load mounds of furniture, appliances, bedding & whatever other clutter that has accumulated in the duration of any lease. Too often the renter moves a couple duplexes away to perpetuate that on the next landlord. 1/2 their garbage ends up blowing into my yard just the same because the 2x a week litter isn’t bagged properly. This was Alfin that circumvented the lowest bid process and opted for FCC over WastePro that was doing the same job for less. Just reminding anyone reading this that the one’s seeking re-election were the one’s that tried to leverage Waste Services and failed at providing the most cost effective solution. Gone are the days of LT contract rates, tying rates to inflation is a Biden-Harris concept as is the grossly underfunded growth projects he rubber stamps that comes across his desk for his vote of approved. Hopefully, Alfin won’t have to be concerned with inflationary price hikes later this year. He can wait it out on the sidelines for the properties to come up for sale and he can make his money that way on real estate commissions.
Mischa Gee says
Whatever we do in Palm Coast, we should prevent “fees” being added to utility bills for things like beach restoration. These fees are really a tax and should be added to the tax bills, where, believe it or not the residents have a bigger say in whether or not they go up.
We currently need to look into adding another fresh water well to be able to provide water to all these new homes being built, as well as sewage processing facilities for the same reason.
Our city missed an opportunity to increase impact fees to the maximum allowed by law, and now must wait before increasing them again..
I think before they allow continued reckless building, they need to find a way to make contractors include water and sewer processing plants for their developments. Water pressure has been bad for a long time, it’s time to face the music, and make sure those building in our city, provide infrastructure to match their building.
We should also renegotiate a better contract with our new trash company, that sets a rate of increase capped at 3% per year, or open bidding again.
Waste Pro served us well for a long time and could again.
Celia Pugliese says
I can afford it, but for those that live in a fixed retirement or family income, this is the “deal” that city chief of staff DeLorenzo got us in! Wonder what else is in this contract signed!
Jay Tomm says
At least I’m still at 2.5% on my mortgage!
Deez Nutz says
So the city agreed to this new contract last year with FCC and now all of a sudden Alfin acts surprised by the rate increase! Just like they approved all the development on 100 around BJ’s and now they are worried about traffic congestion in that area. Seems to me that this current administration lacks any ethics or common sense to be in charge of our future. Please show up and vote Alfin and his cronies out of office in this upcoming election, they have ruined what was once a great place to live!