CITY HALL — April is the cruelest month — for poets and for all city residents who have their trash collected by the city.
The new $9.50-a-month garbage-collection fee took effect in January after being approved as part of Mayor Rahm Emanuel's 2016 budget, but city residents will first feel the sting in April when a "new, unified utility bill" gets delivered to homeowners and landlords. Alerts on the new bills are being prepared to go out next week.
The bill will roll the trash fee, $9.50 a month per unit, in with water and sewer charges. Residents with water meters will be on a two-month billing cycle, while those without them wil be on a six-month cycle. The bills will be retroactive to January.
To ease the transition late fees will not be imposed until the end of the year.
Bills, however, go to homeowners and landlords, not renters. It will be up to the landlord whether to pass the added costs on to renters with the next lease.
Emanuel argued at the time it was meant to minimize the effect of what turned out to be a record $589 million increase in property taxes.
According to Budget Director Alexandra Holt, the new fee affects about half the city's residences, since those who live in larger apartment buildings already pay independently for their own trash pickup. The fee will cover about a quarter of the $244 million the city spends every year to collect garbage.
Recycling, yard waste and bulk items will not be affected.
In fact, calling it "a sanitation issue," the city stated that trash will be picked up regardless of payment. Yet, for scofflaws, not paying the unified bill can still get a residence's water cut off.
Seniors who already qualify for the county assessor's Senior Freeze Exemption will be eligible for a half-price discount, which in "most cases" will be applied automatically. Seniors can call 312-744-4426 to confirm.
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