Elyria eyes 5 percent sanitation rate increase in each of next 3 years

ELYRIA — After voting to keep trash pickup in-house as a city service earlier this month, Elyria is seeking to raise sanitation rates by 5 percent over each of the next three years. On Monday, City Council's Finance Committee voted to send the rate increases before Council as a whole, which will vote on the measure at its next meeting on Dec. 1. Currently, Elyrians who do not have a homestead exemption pay $33.38 per month for weekly trash pickup and unlimited bulk pickup. Residents with a homestead exemption pay $24.87 per month. With the increases, residents without the exemption would pay $35.05 per month in 2026, $36.80 per month in 2027 and $38.64 per month in 2028. Residents with a homestead exemption would pay $26.11, $27.41 and $28.78 per month in those same three years. Elyria's trash and recycling pickup services are carried out by its Sanitation Department, but the department's future was called into question briefly after the city received the results of a financial study of the department earlier this fall. The study, carried out by Rea Business Advisors, suggested that to maintain its current service and be fiscally stable, the city would need to increase rates and it should consider privatization before doing so. It was not a long consideration, as several Council members said that residents quickly and loudly made it clear that they wanted to keep the service in-house. Council voted 10-1 last week in favor of maintaining the department. With the department set to stay, Safety Service Director Chris Pyanowski followed the second recommendation of the study and on Monday he proposed Elyria raise its sanitation rates. "The second part of that process, in my opinion, is now we have to discuss increasing the rates to pay for the service going forward," Pyanowski said. "The consultant that we brought in recommended 5 percent year-over-year increases in order for the fund to stay solvent." Pyanowski recommended the 5 percent increase be implemented in 2026, 2027 and 2028 and then after 2028 the city reevaluate the department's finances to see what, if any, further increases are needed. In addition to keeping services as they are, Pyanowski said that the rate increases would be used to maintain the equipment the department has and purchase new equipment to update its fleet. He said the city is in the process of purchasing two new side-loading sanitation trucks, which are already available. Since COVID-19, the wait times for new sanitation trucks have ballooned, with truck orders sometimes taking up to 18 months to complete. Purchasing these trucks would help the department round out its fleet while avoiding that wait, Pyanowski said. "That is just one reason why it is important we have proper rates in order to support the department, support the individuals who work in the department and make sure that they have equipment that is functional and safe," Pyanowski said. "So I ask you, in following with your vote to keep the department, to now set the rates in a way that we can continue to maintain it and be successful." Members of the Finance Committee agreed, voting 4-0 to send the proposal forward to Council as a whole and recommend its passage. "I think it is well worth it and it is what the public directed us to do," Councilman Phil Tollett, D-at-Large. Tollett was one of several Council members who said they heard large numbers of residents urging them to keep Elyria's sanitation services in the city. City Council voted last year to increase sanitation rates by $5, but prior to that, rates had not been increased for several years. This failure to update rates was a major part of the reason that Rea found the department to be at risk of expending its cash balance. Finance Director Ted Pileski said that the 5 percent increases should put the department's finances back on track, at least for the foreseeable future. Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.