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ECUA Settles On 9.5% Sanitation Rate Increase With ‘Free’ Second Can, 5% Hike For Water And Sewer
July 26, 2023
The Emerald Coast Utilities Authorities Tuesday settled on a 9.5% rate increase for all sanitation customers and 5% for water and sewer.
Facing a potential $1.8 million shortball and big problems with the wrong items being placed in recycling cans, staff had proposed a more modest 3.5% rate increase for sanitation customers plus a $3 a month recycling fee.
“You either raise the base rate (for sanitation services) from which you draw funds, or you put more of that actual recycling cost on those who are using the service by raising the rate,” ECUA Executive Director Bruce Woody told the board during a Tuesday afternoon meeting. He said those who “use recycling as a trash can, then perhaps influencing them financially by having a financial difference so if they are not interested in recycling”.
“Contamination has to come down,” board member Larry Williams said. “If education is not working, if enforcement is not working, and we are not making money, then I don’t why we are doing this unless we are going in the right direction.”
“I don’t think additional education is going to work,” District 5 member Kevin Stephens said.
Board member Dale Perkins made a motion to increase sanitation rates by 9.5% across the board and eliminate the charge for a second garbage can. Residential customers will have the option to receive a second can — their choice of trash or recycling — at no additional charge. The motion was seconded by Stephens and passed 5-0.
“People like more, and people like free,” Perkins said. “ECUA will pick up your recycling can and bring you a garbage can for free. It might seem that we are discouraging recycling, but the people who don’t want to recycle will call in, especially if it’s free. We can promote that and get them off. We don’t want people recycling that don’t want to recycle.”
The 9.5% increase will raise the rate for a 90-gallon container from $27.67 to $29.88 and include an optional additional trash or recycling can at no cost.
District 1 board member Vicki Campbell first said she could not support the 9.5% increase with a “free” additional can because some could not afford it, or those like widows, the elderly and empty-nesters simply don’t need a second can. She made an amendment to Perkins’ motion for the originally proposed 3.5% increase with $3 for a second can whether it be garbage or recycling. She later withdrew her amendment to the motion.
ECUA is also raising rates on seven entities outside Escambia County — like Foley, Fort Walton Beach and Okaloosa County — from their current $15-$45 per ton for recyclables to a flat $60 per ton due to high contamination levels.
ECUA staff had proposed a 4% rate increase for water and 6% for wastewater. The board voted 5-0 to increase both water and wastewater by 5%.
Both rate increases will return to the ECUA board in August for public hearings and a final vote.
Comments
46 Responses to “ECUA Settles On 9.5% Sanitation Rate Increase With ‘Free’ Second Can, 5% Hike For Water And Sewer”
9.5 percent plus and additional. 5 for water and .5 for sewage….but we are gonna get…
Zero recycling..meaning although it was “down” for 9 months out if 12 -we still paid a charge for it every month like good recyclers we are…now it will be gone completely…and guess what.? We are still going to be charged for it. He says .”they want free” so for 9.5 +.5 + .5 = 10.5 % I get a “free” second green can ? Oh joy…these crooks in charge must be former VA Compensation workers..for example
30+30+40 equals? Yep I’m a product of the Texas public education system but I’m pretty sure that’s 100 but they will only give a person 70 (rounded up)…no wonder people are going crazy ..hell even the trash “leaders” are in on it..yall know what’s next?
They make a quite announcement. “Hey yall We have run out of room” we gotta buy another billion dollar swamp plot yall” get ready for another 30% price hike for that -all you happy Contaminated recyclers..its a- coming
Good variety of comments posted. Hope many of you will attend the ECUA public hearing in August (can’t find the specific date on their website). Your chance to be heard although frankly, it won’t change the Board’s rate increase vote.
This is getting ridiculous, allready over 150 a month for just my wife and I.
I spoke with Kevin Stephens about this rate increase and said to him that there is better way of correcting this problem than beating up retired people on fixed income. I firmly believe in recycling but can’t afford this CASH COW ECUA , my recycling container is out buy road for pick up. If cost continues to climb might have to go back to the old days burn in my fire pit. We need new people collecting waste ECUA is out of control.
I am a senior citizen and use the small garbage can. I have no use for two big cans, so why is my rate going up 9.5%, when I am living on Social Security and cannot afford more for a service that I will not use.
Coming from decades of madated recycling efforts in my former states of CA, WA and on many military facilities, recycling here in Escambia County is a problematic issue.
In CA, no food residue can be on ANY recycled items, all paper labels must be removed from cans recyclable bottles, all plastics sorted by type and identifying symbol, and fines applied to every customer who contaminates their recycling bin, truck or system.
That said, the recycling centers there are massive, with state-of-the-art separating equipment, a full compliment of recycling technicians and operators, and adequate staffing, equipment, decades of customer education and processes to accomplish the goal of removing the majority of recyclables from the waste stream. There is no upcharge for recycling, and customers often are issued multiple recycling bins because one truck is for paper goods, another for glass, and a third for plastics. The sorting is done bu the customer before the various bins head to the curb for pickup.
Until the majority of ECUA customers are educated and willing to do the same separation at home (and those multiple bins take up a good deal of space in the yard or trash corral) I don’t see that charging more for the same service is going to make a difference.
ECUA needs a community education program in every school in the county, and incentives to lead customers into good recycling habits. ECUA also needs newer and more advanced equipment and to mandate separation of recyclables at the curb, and individual customer penalties for mixing trash with recyclables.
With the current issues (equipment breakdowns, inadequate emphasis on education, and poor participation) it seems as if most customers just can’t be bothered.
Instead of raising rates, how about a $5 rebate applied per montlhly bill on every properly sorted recyclables can?Iif there are no incentives and only punishment (raised rates) with an option to create more landfill trash and less recyclables exiting the waste stream (woth a free 2nd waste can and an opt-out on recycling), it appears ECUA is headed backwards rather than forging ahead for the future.
The problem is definitely ECUA. Not the customer! This place has been messed up since I moved here. I even offered my services, and they turned me down cold. Losers. And by the way, no one quits the company because the customers in this business. It’s management!
Straight up….I don’t care to recycle when it’s clear that ECUA IS WANTING TO PROFIT FROM RECYCLING. But at the same time has been requiring me to use only one household trash container and the other for their wishing for recycling profit. To boot I’m required by the county to have pickup service when it was much cheaper taking my own trash to landfill. Crooks.
I’ve said this before, ECUA is an entity enacted by the legislature, self controlled, and there is nothing that can be done but vote our representative out. Kevin Stevens ran not to raise rates. This is the second increase he has voted for. Recyling is a sham. They got government money to set up that tent at the landfill and it is a piece of carp. They spend all they get and then up rates. Ever seen a raggedy ECUA truck like us working folks’ drive. Lois Benson is a lifetime leach of public dollars.
ECUAs problem with contamination is a problem of its own making. Over the last 18 months the recycling facility has been down about half that time(3 different occasions) all due to poor management. During these times when it is all going to the land fill. Some people naturally us both cans for garbage. Then when the facility reopens the poor management fails to properly notify the public it is open and recycle is actually being recycled.
I am a former driver I have been reading all the comments on what ECUA should and shouldn’t do here. I read that they have ineffective management. That said The pay sucks for the driver’s and Mechanic’s. Yet ECUA and the drivers remain committed to your community only asking for a raise to what the other companies pay. The equipment is old and falling apart. While they did order new equipment last year it has been delayed by the vendors. Yet these mechanics find away to get the trucks back up and the drivers on the road to collect your trash, recycling,yard waste and bulk. What gets collected first is Trash , next recycling where the routes are sometimes 2 full trash routes. While collecting recycling is probably the hardest collection because it compacts different than regular trash. The driver have to watch what goes in the truck. When you collect cans with dead animals,yard waste,and regular trash in the can it then gets left at the recycling plant. At the plant it gets scooped up and placed in the hopper to run thru the equipment that dead pet animal gets pulled apart in the equipment and damages it. Which causes the shut down and the recycling plant to close for repairs. Everyone is correct it is a management problem but not at ECUA it’s at your house because your too lazy to separate the recycling from the trash. Also the driver have to decide if they load is salvageable for recycling or does it just have to go to the landfill because of the contamination.
As for your can not dumping out completely that’s because the can is packed so tight already so when it is picked up by the truck it doesn’t fall out of the can. If you have that much trash get another can. It wasn’t because of management I left. It was the customer.
@ Larry J Seale
That’s the worst idea in this comment section.
I do not have a problem with recycling. I think it is a good idea. If not ECUA will eventually run out of space for garbage. I also rinse mine before putting in the recycable can. It is almost always picked up first. There is always 2 trucks, recycable agreen can for trash.
simple solution,
just dig a hole in your back yard
and burn the recycle.material ,when hole
is full, dig a new hole……….SIMPLE
I think it would help if there were stickers put on the recycle cans that specifically list what goes into the bin. I’ve seen that in other areas & that is super helpful. I would rather give that a try before you raise rates across the board.
“we are not making money, then I don’t why we are doing this ” – Larry Williams
You’re not here to ‘make money’, you are a public service, breaking even is enough.
Recycling will always be a money loser, it is well established it costs more to recycle than use virgin materials. Recycling is a worthy endeavor, but it’s not a money maker.
I once had a bunch of cardboard I needed to get rid of, I put it out to be picked up.
It wasn’t. I called. “Are you in our recycling program?”, No, I just didn’t want to cut all these boxes up and stuff them in the can. “Oh, we’ll only pick it up if you are in our recycling program.”. So, I cut them up and put them in the trash over the next two pickups.
BFI was cheaper and offered more pickups, when ECUA took over all that changed.
@Bob
Well, you’re wrong.
Solar plants, windmills, hydroelectric stations, and other green sources of energy can, and often do, turn a profit. The only reason fossil fuels are usually cheaper is because of massive subsidies from our tax dollars.
Recycling makes a lot of sense. It reduces the amount of trash that ends up in a landfill and mitigates the environmental impact of waste generation. It’s a public service, not something designed to generate money. Criticizing it for not being profitable is like complaining about the EPA regulating businesses because “breathable air and clean water aren’t profitable”.
…and no. Recycling isn’t a secret government plot to “control people” or “strip us of our liberties”. C’mon.
Vicki Campbell made the most reasonable proposal… and for the best reason. Why is it customers never get to weigh in on changes?
I do separate, only to watch one truck pick up both cans week after week. Leave my rate alone, I don’t need a second can. Come get this so called recycle can. Get the money back from the thieves working there.
Maybe when everyone turns their recyclable can in. They want wast so much money running two trucks on the same route. Looks like they almost got the point we have more trash than cans and yes I already pay for an exter can. BFI WE NEVER HAD TROUBLES. LOWER COST CAME TWICE A WEEK ONE CAN.
Single stream waste recycling is where they need to go. Everything goes into one bin, one truck and is dumped in one place. They you just have to hire people, or use DOC, probationers or community service offenders to sort everything. Lot of other places do it. Saves money and creates jobs.
ECUA can’t even empty a garbage can without leaving most of te garbage left in the can ! They are in to hurrying up and if you call them they say well leave it out at road and we will come back lol we’ll they don’t. And are going up shame on them
When Covid was blasting our way of life we were told to use both cans and not to worry about recycling for the time being. People got the idea that recycling wasn’t that important and many did not switch back when we were told to do so. I don’t understand why those at ECUA are acting so surprised.
I watch in fascination while visiting family in KC, MO where they have colored baskets lined up in the garage which are put out once a week. If wrong items, that is, glass is in the plastics container, no problem, they don’t pick it up! It doesn’t happen often because people need their trash gone. They are also training the next generation of customer, the children.
Meanwhile, we continue to read about how hard it is to recycle and how ECUA solves everything by raising the cost of failure. Maybe we need to try having the customers work the ECUA jobs for a month to see if we can improve this situation.
I’m taking the senior citizen discount. Any extra garbage I have will be placed in my neighbor’s second can as we have already discussed. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. I always recycled the proper way by placing clean items in my can. I have seen dirty pizza boxes, 2 litter bottles with soda in them, styrofoam containers. old shoes. These items are garbage and considered contaminated recyle items.
What Can I Place in My Recycling Can? ECUA Guidelines
Please Recycle These Items:
Glass; any color
Paper newspaper & Inserts
Cardboard
Boxboard (cereal, cake & cracker boxes, etc.)
Plastic bottles
Plastics No. 1 & 2
Plastic Milk Jugs; 2-Liters
Aluminum Cans & Lids
Tin and Steel Cans & Lids
Metal Pots, Pans & Cookie Sheets
Pet food cans (no plastic liner) as in Vienna sausage cans
Next: Vote out the District 5 good ole boys – Kevin Stephens ECUA Commissioner and his counterpart Steve Barry County Commissioner. The District 5 residents want change.
Great! I already pay for a second can, and now I’ll get it for nothing saving me around $5 a month. And YES, ECUA come get your recycle can.
Recycling is not profitable from a financial standpoint. Recycling, windmills, solar panels and electric cars are financial liabilities. These processes cannot generate a profit or break even without government funding. That means the taxpayer dollars are funding these green energy projects. Furthermore, these projects are not better for the environment. They are a method for controlling people activities and taking away our freedom and liberties. People go along with these fairy tales because it allows them to virtual signal their friends and families…
ECUA STOP RECYCLING AND YOUR EXPENSES WILL DROP RADICALLY, THEN YOU CAN LOWER THE RATES YOU CHARGE YOUR CUSTOMERS!!!
If memory serves the ECUA or Perdido Landfill has had a bunch of problems with their recycling location where it has been shut down at least half the time over the past few years.
They have also had to spend money on repairs. Those are management issue that do affect these cost and the efficiency, or lack of, in recycling.
Now they want to whine about cost?
What I do know is that sanitation services cost the same whether it is for a family of 6 who’s cans over flow every week or someone who lives alone and maybe puts their can to the street twice a month.
If the ECUA is going to keep raising cost then please stop over charging me to offset the cost for big family households.
They need to make their money back for that man who was stealing and selling recyclables. Don’t forget how innocent people pay the price for soft on crime.
First I agree with many of the comments made. And the sad thing about this 9.5% increase is cause by the people who choose not to follow guidelines to use a recycle can as a trash can. But it’s ECUA in the wrong for keeping the plant open and operating like it should be and enforcing their guidelines on those who are in the wrong. And one more important thing ECUA can do is give the elderly a lower rate because of their less use. I wish everyone could work together and maybe to help out with the high rate of living cost due to our government is to settle on a lower rate such as 5.5% increase. When the minimum wage goes up each time, the cost of living goes up higher so a person will never benefit from it. And who voted on a higher minimum wage?
Time to let Waste Management or some other Company that has some brains take over. ECUA has always been confused since they aren’t part of the County management anymore.
This is what a government monopoly gets you.
Have them open it up to competition and prices would drop 20-30%.
Serious question for those who may know: don’t recycling facilities SELL their colllected materials to industries who reuse them (i.e. bulk aluminum into automotive applications, building materials, etc.) ? Could the issue with the recycling plant operating at a loss be due to them not selling their stuff at a competitive price?
Vote them out. They can not manage, they are tax and spend democrats who don’t have to say they are. So the people who do not recycle have to pay for the people who do. Remember how much these people raised rates the next election. We can elect chimpanzees to vote yes on every rate increase.
Interesting, that they basically insult the consumer about our inability to be educated. They keep changing the parameters, and the downtime when they have problems at their plant, make it very difficult to consistently recycle. Plus, a lot of things that are supposed to be recyclable, they can’t recycle, it’s not because we won’t be educated it’s because they keep moving the goalposts
Quote of the day: “I don’t think additional education is going to work,” District 5 member Kevin Stephens said. Then how does recycling actually work in the rest of this country?
Sounds like it’s time that ecua may need a little competition in the trash business. They always get what they want because when you only answer to your self you get what you want and then some. thanks guys hope you price your self out of business.
Be mind full….. certain employees need their new F450 to drive home each day.. in the name of service…..
Please report all waste, fraud and /or abuse…. ie.. speeding, strategically hiding to cat nap & conducting personal business on our dime… while on the clock
Continuing to pump money into anything that is broken; top to bottom is insane. This utility’s leadership and many of its supervisors are incompetent.
VOTE THEM OUT
Sounds like Dale Perkins thinks we are all idiots, my opinion. “People like more, and people like free”… They aren’t offering anything for “free” and the rates are increasing. How about they eliminate some people at the top that are highly paid and are sitting in an office. It’s certainly not the people collecting the garbage/trash/recycling making the big bucks.
Remember when Kevin Stephens said he would raise rates only as a last option after first looking for ways to cut expenditures. “I’m going to look at all the information; I’m going to look at the budget,” he said. “I’m going to find out where we can cut costs. We are going to look at our house first. Where can we cut things where it comes to waste when it comes to inefficiencies, redundancies, overlap, that sort of thing. When it comes to, like I said, spending. That’s our big thing.”
~~~North Escambia, June 30, 2021 – “ECUA Sanitation, Water And Sewer Rate Increases Proposed; D5 Rep Says He Won’t Raise Rates ‘Willy-Nilly’”
Escambia County voters remember.
You can only squeeze the piggy bank so hard before it breaks…
I wonder if the people getting the disabled discount on their bill will be able to get the free second garbage can. As of now they give those households a small can that holds two bags of garbage and they are not allowed to pay for a second can . I can’t understand why they think disabled households don’t have normal amounts of garbage. TWO BAGS A WEEK. They want you to think they’re doing something nice for the disabled but they are really just charging for the TWO BAGS they allow. Just waiting to see if they get the free can ECUA says everyone will be allowed.
“People like free”…..so let’s increase rates 9.5% and let you have a free can. Was he a used car salesman??
You cannot continue to buy (at the expense of citizens) your way out of incompetence. There has to be a house cleaning if management and improve the inefficiency of this organization. The comments made by board members are ridiculous, it shows where the problem is and why they cannot remain profitable
If I read this correctly, I will be paying more overall due to recycling. Weren’t we sold on the idea that the recycling facility would pay for itself?
We must quit re-electing the incumbents. We must find new representation to serve as our elected leaders. This ECUA board has failed all Escambia County customers.
One board member pushed for higher water rates as a means to encourage user to conserve. If their water bill goes up then maybe they will cut back on their water consumption. [facepalm]
The proposed sewer increase was lowered from 6% to 5% to encourage prospective customers to join the sewer line and ditch their septic tanks. If the rate increase was higher it may discourage prospective customers. [RollMyEyes]
And no matter how this ECUA board tries to sell this 9.5% increase as it is “just $2 additional dollars per month”…. it is still a 9.5% increase.