By Jim Bloch
The city of Port Huron has gotten rid of the three mill tax that paid for trash pickup and leaf removal in the city. In its place, each residential parcel will be charge $285 annually for the services. The charge will be split in half over and paid with summer and winter taxes.
The city council voted unanimously at its regular meeting June 12 to adopt the resolution that formalized the changes.
The three mill tax is insufficient to cover the $14 million the city will pay to Emterra Environmental USA to remove solid waste from residences in the firm’s new contract with the city, which runs July 1, 2023-June 30, 2028. The cost for the pickup in the upcoming fiscal year is $2.6 million.
“The $285 dollars is our cost (spread) over the residential parcel count within the city,” said City Manager James Freed, as heard on the recording of the meeting posted on the city’s website. “The reason why we’re applying it to the tax bill is because that’s where the tax relief (from the discontinued millage) is being seen.”
Freed said that he has assembled a task force to weigh the city’s options for solid waste pickup, including returning to a city-run model.
“This is not a good situation to be in, where you have a single bidder,” said Freed. “Our costs went up about 40 percent.”
A handful of residents have been complaining about the new charge for a number of council meetings. The most stinging criticism has been that residents owning pricey lots on Lake Huron will be charged the same amount as small lots on the city’s south side.
“There’s no perfect solution,” said Freed. “We know this is going to hurt some people. We know this is hard.”
“Just clarifying: Businesses were not part of this because they’re not part of our pickup.”,” said Mayor Pro Tem Sherry Archibald.
“Correct,” said Freed.
“They pay for their own pickup already,” said Archibald. “They didn’t get a freebee.”
“There was about 100 to 160 parcels within our commercial corridor who used to get trash pickup,” Freed said. “They’ve been given notice that as of July 1, their trash pickup is ceasing. They’ll need to contract privately. But the vast majority of businesses have dumpsters and commercial services.”
Council member Conrad Haremza asked about the possibility of composting the city’s leaves.
“The amount of tonnage of the leaves we pickup is so staggering that without burning (them, it would be impossible),” Freed said.
The residents, he said, largely think the $30 charge per year for leaf pickup is worth it.
Jim Bloch is a freelance writer based in St. Clair, Michigan. Contact him at bloch.jim@gmail.com.