By Hal Dardick Chicago Tribune
As Mayor Rahm Emanuel puts the finishing touches on next week’s budget proposal, the amount of a new monthly garbage collection tax remains in flux.
An administration source said Thursday the fee would be no more than $11 a month, even as a key ally of the mayor said the fee would be $9.50 a month.
Ald. Joe Moore, 49th, described the charge as the result of “negotiation between a couple of us on the City Council and the administration.”
The fee, which would be charged to about 613,000 houses, duplexes and four-flats, would raise about $70 million a year if everyone paid it, Moore said. The garbage fee would be included on water bills that are sent out every other month, much as they are in many suburbs, he added.
People who don’t pay their water bills can see that service shut off, but the city would still continue to pick up garbage for sanitary reasons in those cases, Moore said.
The Emanuel administration would not confirm the $9.50 a month figure.
“In recent weeks, several aldermen offered an idea to expand the garbage collection fee to all households,” Emanuel spokeswoman Kelley Quinn said in an email statement. “Today, we provided aldermen with relevant information so that no matter the final decision, it can be made with all facts at hand.” read more……
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