Longview City Council Passes Solid Waste Rate Increase—Klog 100.7 News

Longview residents will see an increase in their monthly utility bills after the City Council voted Tuesday night to raise the base rate for trash and recycling services by 15 percent. The change adds about $2.99 per month, bringing the new base rate to $22.91.

Assistant City Manager Chris Collins said the city’s solid waste fund was on track to go negative without the increase, which would have forced the general fund to cover the shortfall. He said the hike should keep the fund at about 16 percent for now, though it remains behind pace and more increases are likely to be needed in the near future. He added that even with the higher rate, Longview’s costs remain lower than those in the County and other nearby cities.

The increase passed on a 5-2 vote, with Mayor Spencer Boudreau and Councilmember Erik Halvorson voting no. Halvorson proposed a smaller 7.5 percent hike, supported by Boudreau, but it failed. Collins said the smaller increase would not have met the city’s needs.

Councilmembers Keith Young and Ruth Kendall said they explored eliminating roadside recycling and replacing it with centralized drop-off sites, but found the savings would have been minimal. They also said state law will require roadside recycling by 2030, making the cost of new infrastructure for drop-off sites not worth it.