Carroll residents may notice a slight increase to their trash collection bills in the coming months following a request from the city’s contracted waste haulers to add a fuel surcharge in response to high diesel prices. The city’s current agreement runs through Fiscal Year (FY) 2025, but City Manager Mike Pogge-Weaver says the operators recently approached him with the requested change.
He explains the surcharges would be calculated using the price of Midwest ultra-low sulfur diesel that is published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Surcharges would only be applied when that price exceeds $3.95 per gallon. Pogge-Weaver says that has occurred infrequently over the last 10 years.
At-Large Councilman LaVern Dirkx questioned how a fuel surcharge amendment would impact contracts moving forward. Pogge-Weaver does not anticipate any substantial changes.
Based on current diesel prices, the fuel surcharge would be around $0.25, and the earliest it could appear on customers’ bills would be in October. The council voted unanimously to adopt the proposed amendment’s first reading. Additional readings are necessary before the change will go into effect.
