Bal Harbour residents may get garbage fees

BAL HARBOUR

Bal Harbour village officials are considering a garbage fee to offset a projected budget shortfall in the coming fiscal year.
BY RODOLFO ROMAN
Special to The Miami Herald
Bal Harbour residents may have to pay to have their trash picked up.

The Bal Harbour council will discuss adding a garbage fee during Tuesday's meeting.

The service is funded out of Bal Harbour's budget, but an additional fee is needed to offset projected shortfalls in the coming years, Village Manager Alfred Treppeda said.

``Most cities charge a fee for garbage collection instead of including it in the regular budget as Bal Harbour does,'' Treppeda wrote in an e-mail to The Miami Herald.

Treppeda said he would propose an amount for the garbage fee at Tuesday's meeting. If the council agrees with the recommendation, the next step would be to pass a resolution in order to implement the fee.

Treppeda said a fee is necessary to cut down a projected $2 million revenue shortfall for the 2010-11 fiscal year. A garbage fee would reduce that amount to $1.2 million.

Bal Harbour recently increased its property tax rate by 8.6 percent for the 2009-10 fiscal year, which took effect Oct. 1.

City officials said the hike was intended to offset a nearly 8.4 percent dip in property values.

The village projects that it will take in $13.3 million in taxes and fees for the 2009-10 fiscal year -- up from the previous year's $12.5 million.

Currently, the village counts on its own solid waste department employees to pick up trash, which was budgeted for $800,000 this fiscal year. Bal Harbour has four employees in the solid waste department along with two garbage trucks and a recycling truck. The village may also consider switching from rear-yard pickup to curbside pickup, which would save money, Treppeda said. The village council meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday at village hall, 655 96th St.