Buffalo Grove approves 50-cent hike in monthly trash collection fee

Buffalo Grove trustees this week approved a 50-cent hike in the monthly fee the village collects to cover the costs of using the Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County's transfer station in Glenview.

With the increase, the fee goes from $5.65 to $6.15 a month for those in single-family homes and from $4.55 to $5.05 a month for residents of multifamily dwellings.

Deputy Village Manager Christopher Stilling said the fee has not increased in more than 10 years, while costs to the waste agency have risen. Over the last five years, he said, the village's refuse fund reserve has declined as a result of those increased costs.

In addition, the village has been exceeding the amount of trash it expected to have hauled to the transfer station.

Trustee Eric Smith said the village needs to revisit the fee, as well as others like it, on a yearly basis.

"We can address it in 1% or 2% increases, rather than waiting and hitting people up for 8% or 10% increases," he said.

The village staff agreed to do that and pointed out that the fees could go down if the village uses less tonnage.