The Covington Board of Commissioners performed the first reading of an ordinance last week that would extend the city’s solid waste fee due date from its typical due date of March 31 to Aug. 31 of this year.
If passed, the August due date would only apply to 2024. Bills will be sent out in early August and will be coupled with an increase in residents’ annual bills from the previous $152.50 to $188.36.
The change comes as the result of the board’s recent budget discussions. The commissioners wanted to better assess which parts of the city’s budget would be worth tweaking, so they delayed sending out bills until the budget discussions concluded.
Likewise, the move coincides with a restructuring of the city’s solid waste program into the public works and code enforcement departments; this restructuring will not affect residents’ service. The changes will take effect on July 1 with the rest of the new budget.
In a statement to the board of commissioners in February, Finance Director Steve Webb stated that the solid waste fund has been in the red for years and transfers from the city’s general fund, which is still reeling from a deficit, have been needed to close the gap. The fee increase aims to address that.
This is the first time the city has increased the fee in nearly ten years. In February, Webb cited a survey of 20 cities in Kentucky from the Northern Kentucky City and County Management Association, which put the median waste fee of the respondent cities at $207.97. The average fee was about $195, and the highest fee was $281.50. Webb added that several cities in the survey had already raised their fees since its publication, but he did not offer details on those figures.
The commission will complete a second reading and cast a vote on the ordinance at their meeting on Tuesday, June 25, which begins at 6 p.m. at Covington City Hall on Pike Street.