Please address the statement that "Dallas city recently switched from twice a week trash pick up and every other week recycling pick up to once a week for each.  Resulting in 26 fewer pickups with no tax reduction.  Less service w/ same tax= tax increase."


Resonse:
Dallas is phasing in the Once-Weekly garbage and recycling service over several years.  In Year 1 (FY08), 10% of the households (23,159 actually) switched to Once-Weekly.  Next year is Year 2, and we anticipate adding another 35,000 households to the service change - bringing it to about 25% of the city.  Future phases will continue in ensuing years.

The change DOES decrease the collection events from 130 collections (at any one household each year) to 104 collection events - a decrease of 26 events.  The city DOES realize savings from this change of service.
However, because the service is billed on a full-cost-recovery basis to the resident, the savings is realized in the Sanitation Rate.  For FY09, the savings are translated into a 20-cent reduction in the SAN rate. (Other factors, such as fuel costs, will cause increases in the rate.) A net rate increase for FY09 is projected to be $1.45.

An additional 26-cent decrease is anticipated for FY10, due to the next phase of Once-Weekly.

Here's a link to the briefing to Dallas City Council on this topic: http://204.66.40.189/council_briefings/Briefings0808/once_weekly_service _082008.pdf

Also, to compare with other cities, check the attachment, which is an informal survey of various cities' service levels and rates - with expected increase in the rates for FY09.  Note that the final rates for many cities have not yet been determined - including Dallas.  Also - be careful to note which cities have once-a-week service, and which are
served in bags versus carts - as both those factors make a big difference in the cost of service ...

Hope this helps - let me know if you need more.


Mary Nix, Director

Sanitation Services - City of Dallas