Steenbergen Questions Trash Fee Increase

Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Dale Steenbergen is questioning whether a five percent increase in trash fees over each of the next five years is really necessary.

He also says it appears city officials 'have let years of problems stack up here" in regard to the sanitation department. Steenbergen says "if it really costs that much to do it (sanitation) then I think we're all on board with it". But he says it's not entirely clear that much of an increase is needed.

The  city council on Monday did vote to scale back the original proposal of an eight percent increase over the next few years to five percent annually. But Steenbergen says the increase "will still be a shock to some people".

The first five percent increase, which would take effect on July 1, would mean an average fee increase of $1.10 per month for the average residential user. But for commercial customers, the increase, which would be estimated by trash volume, could be considerably more, depending on how much trash they generate.

Although the council voted in favor of the five percent increase on Monday night, a final decision won't be made until the next council meeting on May 26th