Public hearing takes place Sept. 8 at City Hall

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The City of Kokomo is again asking the Kokomo Common Council to adopt a $10 fee on trash collection services. The ordinance will be considered on a first reading Mon., Sept. 8, at 6 p.m. in the council chambers within City Hall.

This is the second attempt made by the administration of Mayor Tyler Moore to enact a fee, having failed in the attempt in November 2024. At that time, Moore explained that money generated from the fee would be devoted to public maintenance and refuse operations, offsetting those expenditures so that general fund dollars could be devoted to other departments within city government. He did not commit to increased investment in refuse collection as a result of the fee.

"This would be an additional opportunity to allow departments to provide service, replace equipment, and add personnel that they would need," Moore stated when the trash fee was brought before the council on Oct. 28, 2024.

The public showed up in force at that meeting, strongly opposing the fee. The council also opposed the fee, voting it down 5-4 on Nov. 18, 2024. At the time of that vote, there was considerable anger directed at the mayor because the fee was not discussed with the council or the community prior to its introduction. Moore appeared remorseful about the lack of transparency in his address to the council on Oct. 28.

“I will admit that we could have been more transparent earlier about our thought process and the rationale behind the fee, rather than simply posting a public notice about it being proposed to the council,” said Moore. “That's on me, folks, and I apologize.”

Moore claimed that a link on the city’s website was created to disclose information about the fee, a breakdown of a property tax bill, and an explanation about how the city’s share of the taxes is allocated.

That information, though not updated for this most recent attempt to pass a fee, is still located on the city’s website under the Public Maintenance and Refuse departmental tab. As such, it is not known presently if the information remains accurate.

The 2024 ordinance would have allowed a discount for citizens over age 65, blind, or disabled, as well as for the surviving spouse of a deceased disabled veteran. Those citizens would be required to pay just a $5 fee.

The ordinance also would have allowed all residents to have two 95-gallon trash containers and a recycling container.

The information on the website also listed the trash collection fees enacted in other Indiana communities, demonstrating that Kokomo is in the minority among the larger cities in Indiana by not enacting a collection fee.

The breakdown of a property tax bill included at the link shows that the City of Kokomo receives roughly 50 percent of the property taxes paid within the city limits, with the remainder allocated between Howard County government, the Center Township Trustee’s office, Kokomo Schools, the Kokomo Howard County Public Library, and the Howard County Recycling District (Solid Waste Management).

Also of note is that the Public Maintenance and Refuse Department’s share of property taxes from a residential property valued at $150,000 is approximately $5.50 per month. The department performs several services unrelated to trash collection, meaning that only a fraction of that amount currently goes to trash collection.

The Public Maintenance and Refuse Department represents less than nine percent of all general fund property tax expenditures. It is the fourth-largest department in the city, while the Kokomo Police Department currently claims 29 percent of the general fund, and the Kokomo Fire Department consumes 24 percent.

All three departments receive additional property tax dollars through the Motor Vehicle Highway Fund and the police and fire pensions; approximately $10 million per year in aggregate.

Whether this information continues to be accurate is unclear as it has not been updated in nearly a year. And Moore’s administration has made no known effort to further educate the public about the need for the fee.

In fact, if not for a public notice published in the Kokomo Tribune’s classifieds, this latest attempt at a trash fee would not have been disclosed to the public. And as of Sept. 3, the common council’s meeting agenda and informational packet is not present on the city’s website, eliminating the only other avenue for the public to receive information on the fee ordinance.

Moore’s statement before the council in October 2024 stands as the only explanation given for the fee.

“After years of contemplation, we believe Kokomo is behind in terms of fees for trash services,” Moore stated. “And by behind, I mean that we as the city haven't taken the initiative to implement the necessary fees or utilize other types of taxes for these services for well over a decade in the interest of keeping the cost of living low or avoiding an unpopular decision.

“For the past four years, this administration has had numerous discussions regarding the need to better fund and support all of our departments’ needs and services, and to assist in how they can continue to do so, either with or without additional fees or taxes considered. Much time and thought has been given to these discussions, so it wasn't an easy decision to come to …

“Almost all communities in Indiana charge some fee for this disposal, and many also charge extra for large item pickups, which is often charged by the pound. Some communities have cut out limb pickup altogether, while others have stopped providing disposal services themselves, opting to allow private trash collection, which typically is much more expensive than $10 a month.

“Taking any of those additional approaches is not the approach we believe is in the best interest of collective community. Instead, we have kept these services in place in the interest of maintaining our high standard of living. Again, residents have had access to these extra services at no additional increase in the property tax.

“While this has been feasible in the past, it comes at the cost of additional services, including the needs of other city departments. This fee will allow us to offset some, but not all, of the cost of refuse disposal, and allow us to increase other services, not only in the street and refuse department, but others which have been a desperate need for attention for a number of years ...

“I assume there's still may be those who are in disagreement with it. Whether we continue to disagree on this particular issue, or if the proposed ordinance is eventually defeated, I can assure you that this administration will continue to try our hardest every day to improve our community and the services our departments provide for our citizens, their families and for our future.”