Fountain Valley residents will soon see their monthly trash bills increase as the cost of hauling waste to local landfills increases across Orange County.
It comes after city council members voted to hike trash rates earlier this month, as the county increases dumping fees at the nearest landfills.
Currently, cities across the county are increasing trash rates as part of a new countywide agreement.
It is the first step that allows hikes to take effect automatically unless a majority of property owners formally protest in writing under a state law dubbed Proposition 218.
“This is not a conversation about can we not increase the trash rates,” said Fountain Valley Public Works Director Scott Smith to the council at the April 7 meeting. “The trash rates are increasing.”
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Currently, the average Fountain Valley resident pays about $32 a month for trash service.
Under the new rates in July, that price will increase to nearly $35 a month.
Seniors, who have a special lower rate, will also see their fees increase by about $2 to just over $30.
However, residents can also expect their rates to continue rising over the next five years.
The council approved a five-year schedule adding another $0.74 per month in 2027 and $0.75 in 2028, with inflation-tied adjustments in the two years after that.
If city leaders opted not to move forward with the raise or the county’s new landfill deal, they’d have to ship their trash out of the county.
[Read: Trash Rate Hikes are on the Horizon for Orange County Residents]
The county’s current disposal rate of $43.76 per ton jumps to $67 on July 1, then $74 the following year and $81 the year after. The original county proposal was steeper. City managers across the region negotiated the first-year rate down from a proposed $82 per ton.
[Read: Orange County Supervisors Hike Trash Rates]
Fountain Valley joined the new Waste Infrastructure System Enterprise Agreement, known as WISE, which locks in disposal rates at least 10% below those paid by non-participating cities. Hauling waste outside the county entirely would have cost 27 percent more.
Councilmember Ted Bui, who sits on the OC Waste Advisory Committee and participated in the regional negotiations to set the new trash rates, pushed back on any suggestion that the decision came without city input.
“They have been working at this for almost a little more than six months, and they have come to an agreement,” Bui said. “I just want to make sure that that’s clear.”
Fountain Valley is not alone in facing the increase. Fifteen other Orange County cities had already approved the WISE agreement as of late March, including Anaheim, Newport Beach and Seal Beach.
Cities that do not sign by April 30 risk paying disposal rates at least 10% higher than the contract price, according to the county’s agreement.
A separate increase tied to the city’s hauling contract with Republic Services is expected later this year. Smith told the council the city plans to align both increases to July 1 so residents see one combined adjustment rather than multiple hikes throughout the year.