Mayor Caldwell has been trying to invent excuses to raise taxes almost from the day he took office.  His latest gimmick reaches the bottom of the barrel...literally:

City proposes user fee for trash pickup service

News Release from City and County of Honolulu February 13, 2014

HONOLULU – The city administration today sent to the Honolulu City Council a proposed bill to establish a new $10/month user fee as a means to make the city's refuse pickup service more efficient and equitable.  The fee would only apply to those who currently take advantage of the city's refuse service, and not for those who use a private service.

It costs the city over $50/month per location to pick up trash.  The $10/month fee recaptures less than 20% of the city's costs.  While the city will still be significantly subsidizing the service, it will help with upgrading its equipment and addressing the quality of service.

The proposal also clears up discrepancies between various groups on Oahu.  For example, some non-profits pay fees for trash pickup while others do not.  Businesses in locations that require special equipment pay for the service while others do not.  The proposed city fee will serve to clean up the discrepancies.

In Hawaii, the City & County of Honolulu is the only county which provides refuse service and does not charge a fee.  Kauai County charges $12/month.  Maui County charges $18/month.  Hawaii County does not provide public trash pickup; residents either use private service or take their trash to the landfills or to transfer centers.

If passed, the new fee would begin in January of 2015.  That will give the city the remainder of the year to fully inform the public and to work out any implementation issues.

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Caldwell's Latest Trick: $120 Garbage Tax

HNN: Mayor Kirk Caldwell's administration is proposing a $10 a month fee to pick up refuse, recyclables, green waste and bulky items.

The city says the fee would only apply to those who currently take advantage of the city's refuse service, and not for those who use a private service....

City Council Budget Committee Chair Ann Kobayashi said she'll study the proposal closely to see if it is actually equitable, and if it will make the city's garbage collection more efficient.

read ... City proposes fee for trash pickup service

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Caldwell's Garbage Tax Would Hit Nonprofits, Small Business Hard

SA: About 20,000 Oahu households that get the traditional manual pickup twice a week, typically those homes in geographic areas where automated trucks cannot operate, would also pay the $10 monthly fee and follow the same guidelines, Houghton said.

There are also about 80 properties owned by nonprofits that get automated collection and 30 nonprofit properties that get manual service. They would be charged a "business" rate of a minimum $75 that would be higher if they have multiple containers or containers that are larger in size, Houghton said.

Those nonprofit properties include churches, temples or other houses of worship as well as private schools.

A third group of about 250 condominium, apartment and townhouse complexes and nonprofits that currently get city "front-loader" or dumpster pickup service would also need to pay a disposal charge of $314 per standard, 3-cubic-yard dumpster. "The language we're proposing makes sure that nonprofits and for-profit businesses get treated the same,"Houghton said. Currently there are about 73 nonprofits in the front-loader category.

The $314 amount was based on an estimate provided in a 2010 study, Houghton said. Like the other fees, it is subject to changed based on the whims of Council members.

read ... Garbage Tax