HAMMOND | Hammond residents will start paying more for garbage pickup beginning Thursday.
The fee will increase by $2, according to the city. Residents currently pay $15 per month, and seniors and the disabled pay $10 per month for garbage services.
“The increase is necessary to cover operational costs. Tipping/disposal fees, equipment and manpower expenses continue to rise making such an increase necessary,” according to city officials.
The charge is included in Hammond water bills.
The increase is the first approved by the Hammond Sanitary District for garbage services since 2008.
“Landfill costs, that's probably the biggest factor, finding a place to dump the stuff,” said Stan Dostatni, Hammond Sanitary District board member.
Separately, the board approved rate increases for sewer services in June. The increases eventually will raise the amount an average residential user pays for sewer services from $13.40 a month to about $26, according to estimates.
Those increases, in part, will support projects to reduce sewage overflows into the Grand Calumet River and are subject to approval by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission.
Dostatni said the board should receive an update soon on where the increases stand with the IURC.
"Nothing has been brought up before the board," Dostatni said. "We should be hearing on that shortly."
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