Latest Headlines
- FDOT Plans Traffic Shift Thursday In Century Highway 29 Construction Zone
- Molino Man Charged With Throwing Object, Breaking Windshield Of Passing Car
- ECUA Considering Water, Sewer And Sanitation Rate Increases
- Highway 4, Highway 168 Bridges Across North Escambia Remain Closed. Here’s An Update.
- Free Summer Lunch Available For Youth At Libraries In Escambia County
- AAA: Florida Gas Prices Dropped 18 Cents In 10 Days
- Potential Sinking Of SS United States Under Consideration For Escambia County As Artificial Reef
- M-Braves Sweep Blue Wahoos
- Two-Time Super Bowl Champ Inspires Local Youth Athletes (With Photo Gallery)
- Century Woman Charged With Meth Possession After Traffic Stop
Century Approves Garbage Rate Increase. For Some, It’s 5%. Others Will Pay 105% More.
February 22, 2023
The Century Town Council has approved a $1.25 garbage rate increase, but some residents will see an increase of over $13 a month.
Everyone has at least the minimum one-can residential service. But they were charged between $12.98 to $24.85 due to billing blunders.Town Clerk Leslie Howington said no one was paying what was the correct rate of $25.34.
Tuesday night, the council approved a 4.93% , or $1.25, increase, to the correct rate for one weekly pick up of a trash can and twice per month curbside debris pickup of household items and vegetative debris. That puts the new garbage rate at $26.59 across the board.
For a resident that was paying the incorrect rate of $12.98, the new correct charge of $26.59 equates to an increase of $13.61, or 105%.
The town contracts with Republic Services to collect garbage within the town limits. Republic has a provision in their contract that allows them to increase the rates they charge the town each December to match the Consumer Price Index. The town annually passes the rate increase directly along to residents, usually in December.
But over the last several years, town staff had failed to actually adjust the rates in the billing system, so the town has been losing the revenue while paying Republic more.
Comments
10 Responses to “Century Approves Garbage Rate Increase. For Some, It’s 5%. Others Will Pay 105% More.”
I got charged two gas bills today because of their messups.An extra 23.00.This stinks up the place like this garbage hike.Changing clerks like a pair of shoes and folks that don’t know how to add.Its a meck of a hess in city hall.Get it right people I’ve never been under charged by them and never got free gas either.A.W.Thompson .
They need to explain the high, double billed gas bills. They explanation they give doesn’t make since at all.
I believe it is still less than ECUA but there is no recycling.
Honestly with a clerk, a billing clerk, a chief financial officer and an accountant on contract plus annual audits required by an outside firm plus a past manager, mayor, and council these billing fiascos are just plain out stupid.
Mismanagement.
I have been paying $26.50 for a while now.
We have been paying over $25.00 each month. I don’t understand why the clerk says that nobody has been paying the correct amount.
It seems there has been has been “usage that has never been billed” once again. I had lived here 6 months and after the new water meters were installed I was oner billed $1650.00 for one month. When I asked what this was about I was told “usage that has never been billed”. (I did not pay the usage of the past residents of this property but did end up pay for 3 and a half months of water I know I never used.) When the new gas meters were installed to all the residents using gas there were higher bill for some of us that had been paying a gas bill. When I asked about this I was told has been “usage that has never been billed”. Now there are citizens being under charged and some being over charged for garbage service. I am one of the people that has been over charged. Will I be getting a credit for the time I have been over paying for service and those that have been under billed be billed for “usage that had never been billed”?
“Town Clerk Leslie Howington said no one was paying what was the correct rate of $25.34.”
I paid $26.50 last month. That was before the vote to increase. Not sure how long I’ve been paying that amount. People, keep track of your billing. Government isn’t gonna do it for you. If you over paid, ask for a credit. If you under paid ask for options on how to get paid up so it doesn’t hit you all at once. Government is run by people, people make mistakes.
“For a resident that was paying the incorrect rate of $12.98, the new correct charge of $26.59 equates to an increase of $13.61, or 105%”
Another way of looking at this is “a resident who was paying the incorrect rate of $12.98 had been receiving a tremendous discount on the correct charge”.
and the customer fets ripped off again. they pick up trash ONCE a week. gimme a break!
hahaha So residents are on the hook for an office error that went on for years… figures. Do you think people are going to pay for this? Monthly? Most would rather just let their garbage pile up in their neighborhoods. So get ready for that, but it’s Century not many will notice.