Wellington residents are likely facing a $20 bump in annual costs for having their solid waste and recycling picked up at the curb, which, if not a cause for enthusiasm exactly, still beats some other recent hikes, village officials said.
That translates to a $310 bill per residential user for fiscal year 2025, or a little less than a seven percent increase, according to preliminary numbers approved unanimously by the Wellington Village Council on Tuesday, May 14.
“Those are substantially lower than increases we’ve had in the past two years,” Deputy Village Manager Tanya Quickel told village leaders at a workshop the day before.
Rising costs of equipment, labor and other expenses have affected a range of village services, and the service in this case is tied into a system coordinated with the Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County, officials said.
She said bills in Wellington would increase about $5 for container service to $230 per unit. Container service is associated primarily with commercial and other users without curbside service.
Residents are not facing an increase in Wellington’s municipal tax rate, but they are looking at various kinds of higher costs, including the second of three annual 10 percent increases in Wellington’s fee for water and sewer service.
That is to cover water system improvements and inflation in the cost of chemicals and materials, according to village staff.
The waste fee resolution approved by the council is not quite a final amount, but represents a maximum increase to help plan budgets. Still, it might wind up pretty close to the mark.
“This is the cap, but it’s probably the number?” Mayor Michael Napoleone asked.
“That is correct,” Village Manager Jim Barnes replied.
Vice Mayor John McGovern asked if the $20 and $5 increases were set in stone.
“Do we have some flexibility in that we could pick different numbers?” he asked.
Quickel said not so much, unless the village transferred money from its general fund, which she did not recommend.
A final vote on the curbside and container rates applied to Wellington residents is expected on Aug. 13.
