CAPE CORAL, Fla. — Cape Coral residents could see their annual solid waste rate increase by $38.49 next year if City Council approves a proposed rate hike on Wednesday.
Hear what one council member had to say about the idea:
The city is asking council to approve an increase to the yearly residential solid waste rate, which would bring the total from $345.76 to $384.25. However, the additional money won't go directly to Waste Pro, the city's waste management contractor.
Instead, City Manager Michael Ilczyszyn says the money will go to the city, and a portion will go to a reserve fund for future disaster cleanup efforts.
"This is more akin to putting money in your bank account for an emergency that you will draw upon when needed," Michael Ilczyszyn said.
The Cape Coral city manager said the reserve fund is necessary after Hurricane Ian, when the city spent around $70 million on debris removal.
"It's a struggle because you don't want to have to take that money out of the general fund to have to cover our clean up and after disasters we all learned from Ian and Irma, you know, that was very time consuming," Jennifer Nelson-Lastra said.
When council voted on the proposal in July, it was approved 7-1, with Council member Rachel Kaduk voting against moving it forward.
Wednesday's meeting will serve as the final public hearing.
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