This post first appeared in the Politics Report.
The budget hits just keep coming.
The city expects to bring in less revenue with the trash fee than expected because some customers are returning their additional trash cans — while others are opting for lower-cost, smaller bins.
The environmental services department projects it will generate approximately $123.9 million in revenue in the coming year. That’s about $9 million less than what city officials assumed in the department’s cost-of-service study.
The $9 million funding discrepancy is just the latest problem in San Diego’s troubled budget. Hundreds of people protested the mayor’s proposed cuts to libraries, recreation centers and the arts this week and a tough fight over what actually gets funded may be ahead.
The city gives homeowners a menu of options for trash bins.
The cheapest option starts at $32.82 a month. That gets you a 35-gallon trash bin. In the middle, there’s an option for a 65-gallon bin. And on the high end, $43.60 a month gets you a 95-gallon trash can. All of the options come with bins for recycling and organic waste.
More homeowners are choosing the cheapest options, which means the city is bringing in less money than expected.
“The reasons for this decrease in revenue are customer selection changes that differ from the assumptions in the cost-of-service study,” wrote Jordan More, who works in the Office of the Independent Budget Analyst, in an email.
Officials with the Independent Budget Analyst’s office said they will provide more information on how the changing customer behavior is impacting revenue projections in a report they will publish next month.
More said the environmental services department revenue estimate is based on customer behavior through January. The department anticipates a revenue adjustment in the May revision of the budget based on new data.
For the current year, all homeowners actually paid the high-end cost of $43.60 per month. They will adjust and give credits on future tax bills, depending on the bin option residents chose.
If a person requested and received a smaller trash bin, that’s credit that will go toward their next tax bill. If a person requested and received additional bins, they’ll owe more money.