JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville City Councilman Matt Carlucci is pushing to raise garbage fees to address a growing financial shortfall in the city’s trash collection services.
Currently, residents pay about $150 annually for garbage pickup, but Carlucci said the actual cost is nearly double that amount.
During the pandemic, Jacksonville faced significant challenges with waste collection, including worker shortages. As a result, wages went up for trash haulers in Jacksonville, with the city raising pay for some workers by nearly 45%, and Waste Management raising pay by 33%.
Despite these rising costs, the solid waste fee for homeowners has remained unchanged since 2010 at $12.65 per month.
Budget Impacts and Growing Debt
To cover the gap, the City of Jacksonville has been borrowing from its general fund.
“That could be used for better parks, more water and sewer line extensions, more roads and streets, better drainage, downtown development...you name it,” Carlucci said.
According to the Council Auditor’s Office, the debt associated with garbage collection has grown significantly, with the city expected to borrow nearly $36 million this fiscal year. CAO projections indicate the total debt will rise to approximately $95 million by late September 2025.
“We don’t want to saddle our future generations with that,” Carlucci said. “It’s a big mess.”
He noted that the borrowing mechanism is considered a loan because the beaches communities and Baldwin independently fund their own trash services.
Proposed Solutions
Carlucci plans to introduce legislation in the coming year to increase the garbage fee. He suggested a gradual approach to ease the financial burden on residents.
“[If] we went to say, $20 [per month], that would greatly slow down the loan...the next year, it would go back up to the actual cost of the service, plus a couple of bucks maybe to help pay off the loan,” he said.
The councilmember also expressed openness to other ideas, saying, “You can’t solve a problem if you don’t face it.”
Carlucci’s stance has faced criticism, including from Brian Hughes, who was Jacksonville’s chief administrative officer under former Mayor Lenny Curry. Hughes wrote on social media Monday, “Terrible idea here. Time for Jax to collapse the separate fund, move garbage costs into general fund, and treat it like the essential service (like cops & fire) that it is.”
Carlucci maintains that dismantling garbage fees would mean new interlocal agreements with the beaches communities that he believes would probably cost Jacksonville money.
Looking Ahead
The draft legislation currently lacks specific fee rates as discussions are ongoing, but Carlucci said he plans to include some form of relief for residents needing financial assistance. He expressed a strong desire to resolve the issue within his remaining two and a half years on the council.