The Waterloo City Council on Monday night approved an increase in the monthly household charge for trash and recycling pickup and approved a handful of other measures.

The new monthly charge for this service provided by Reliable Sanitation, effective May 1, is $18.07, This includes a 50-cent recycling surcharge.

According to a February memo to the city council from collector/budget officer Shawn Kennedy, a contract between the City of Waterloo and Reliable Sanitation for refuse collection states that the monthly charge shall be increased by annual “CPI based on all urban consumers” or 3 percent, whichever is greater. 

The CPI based on all urban consumers for 2022 was 8 percent, this memo states, therefore there will be an increase of 8 percent. This equates to an additional $1.29 per Waterloo household per month.

Reliable did not propose a change to its 50-cent recycling surcharge.

Last year, Reliable increased its charge by 2.5 percent and the CPI was 4.7 percent, per the city memo.

In other action, the council approved an annexation agreement between the city and David and Annette DeBourge for approximately five acres of property located at 550 Oexner Lane. A public hearing on this matter took place prior to the regular meeting, with no comments made.

The council also approved the replacement of a non-conforming structure at 212 Hardy Lane, as permitted in city zoning code. Waterloo Zoning Administrator Nathan Krebel said this is a residential garage for residential use and will replace an existing building in disrepair.

The council entered into an executive session to discuss personnel which lasted about 25 minutes before returning to public session, but no vote was taken as a result.

In his closing remarks, Alderman Jim Hopkins wished to remind the community that the city’s yard waste dumpsite at Lakeview Park is for Waterloo residents only and that only yard waste is accepted at this site.

Per the city website, all waste must be emptied from its bag or container. 

The site is open daily during daylight hours except when workers are mulching yard waste.