How much New Orleanians pay to get their trash picked up, and how much it should go up, will be a topic of discussion this afternoon for members of the New Orleans City Council.
The $24 sanitation fee that New Orleans residents currently pay hasn't changed since the Landrieu administration, but the costs certainly have changed, says Louisiana Legislative Auditor Mike Waguespack.
"Just the CPI, Consumer Price Index adjustment made to the fee of $24 would have the fee today at about $35 per month," Waguespack said. "We determined it's going to take about 36 dollars per month to break even."
The city has been making up the difference out of its budget.
Waguespack said the city also needs to keep better track of how many locations get service.
"We're billing for, let's say, 144,000 unique service locations," said Waguespack. "But we're paying for 165,000 service locations to the various contractors."
The city council's sanitation and budget committees meet at 1 p.m. at New Orleans City Hall to discuss changes to the fee.
