Feb. 19--The city's new garbage hauling fee for residential buildings with four units or fewer will start showing up on April water bills, City Hall officials said Friday.
Although the April bills cover February and March, they also will include the fee for January because the new billing system was not yet in place for the first round of bills this year, city Budget Director Alexandra Holt said.
The city realizes some people will have trouble paying three months worth of fees at once, so late payment of garbage fees will be waived through the end of the year, Holt added.
The fee -- $9.50 per unit a month, with a 50 percent discount for senior citizens who already have qualified for a senior freeze exemption on their property tax bills -- was enacted as part of Mayor Rahm Emanuel's 2016 city budget. The fee is designed to raise $62.7 million a year.
Most residential buildings with more than four units contract out for garbage hauling, but the city picks up garbage at single-family homes, duplexes, three-flats and four-flats. The city hasn't charged for that service until this year.
Homes with water meters get their bills every other month, so the initial garbage-hauling tab in April will be $28.50 per unit. From then on, it will be $19 per unit.
Homes without meters are billed twice a year, with a garbage-hauling tab of $57 per unit. The next set of bills will be for May through October, plus back charges for January through April, so they will include a $95-per-unit fee.
If someone does not pay the water bill, the city will still pick up their garbage because of sanitary concerns. But if they go too long without paying, they could risk having their water shut off, Holt said.
hdardick@tribpub.com
