By Rachel Lippmann, St. Louis Public Radio
St. Louis – Mayor Francis Slay has signed a new $11-a-month fee for trash pick-up in the city.
Just seven of 29 aldermen voted against the proposal on Friday. The city expects about $14 million in revenue when the fee is in place for a full year.
This is the first time time residents will have to pay an additional fee for the service, which was previously funded with tax dollars from the city's general revenue. But bulk pick-up and yard waste are included, as is single-stream recycling, a new service.
"You can take all of your recyclables, and you'll put them in the blue bins all together, the cardboard, the aluminum and the glass," said Alderman Stephen Conway, who led the effort to get the trash fee approved. The $11 a month, he said, is cheaper than all but one surrounding municipality
The fee, which will be included on water bills, is charged per unit. Opponents said it would hit elderly residents the hardest, especially those who may live in a two-family building they own. Water rates also went up 12 percent on July 1.