Residents in unincorporated parts of Leon County could see their annual trash disposal fee double under a proposal headed to county commissioners.
If approved, the solid waste assessment on affected property tax bills would climb from $40 to $80 a year starting Oct. 1, 2026 – meaning many homeowners would pay twice as much to throw out their garbage.
The rate hike is on the agenda for county commissioners to consider at their May 12 meeting as they start working on the coming year’s budget.
Commissioners dodged a hike last year, voting unanimously to keep the solid waste fee at its long‑standing 1996 rate – one of the lowest in the state – and saying it would be wrong to raise garbage and fire service fees in the same year.
They instead decided to subsidize trash service from the general fund and revisit an increase this year.
Under the staff‑recommended plan, the long‑frozen solid waste assessment would rise by about $3.33 a month in the first step of a multi‑year phase‑in. The assessment helps pay to dispose of garbage from unincorporated homes and to operate four rural waste collection centers.
Even after that initial increase, staff notes, Leon’s rate would remain below those in many comparable counties, where disposal assessments now average $187 and reach $300 a year in some jurisdictions, the agenda material says.
County staff says depending on property taxes to backfill trash collections costs is increasingly risky as local governments face inflation, rising health‑care and fuel costs and potential state‑driven changes to the property tax system.
A recent revenue study found Leon relies less on user fees and service charges than the average Florida county and urged shifting enterprise funds such as solid waste to full cost recovery, the agenda material says.
If commissioners give the go‑ahead, a notice laying out a five‑year schedule would be mailed to affected property owners ahead of a July 14 public hearing, when a final vote on the new assessment would come.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Leon County residents could see annual trash fees double
Reporting by Staff report, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
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