BEDFORD – City of Bedford sanitation fee increases correlate to the property tax caps approved in the 2008 State Legislative Session, but not fully implemented until 2010.
In 2023, the City of Bedford General Fund showed a property tax cap loss of $1,133,045.10, whereas the City of Bedford’s total loss due to property tax caps in 2023 was $1,846,541.41.
These user fees, which are flat monthly rates, cover not only trash, but leaves, limbs, some larger household items, recycling, and compost. For those who want compost containers, the city pays for half of the container and the resident pays a one-time fee for the other half of the container.
The city does not pay a fee to the Lawrence County Solid Waste District because the residents of the City of Bedford already pay Lawrence County taxes for Solid Waste; therefore, this is not considered a savings for the City of Bedford.
Tax Increment Financing (TIF) is not optional for a supplement to these user fees, as TIF funds can only be spent for certain capital projects within or beneficial only to the TIF area. Ongoing operational and maintenance activities are not considered capital, and sanitation trucks are used entirely throughout the city, and are not limited to a specific TIF area. There are different guidelines for TIF spending on public safety projects versus sanitation projects.
To support the sanitation department, the City of Bedford employs nine individuals, which has been the full capacity of the sanitation department since three positions were eliminated in 2010.
The City of Bedford’s current sanitation user fee is $12.98/month.
Many other factors contribute to our consideration and implementation of the increase, such as increasing salaries, insurance rates, prices of equipment and parts, etc.
