A Jacksonville City Council member who pressed Mayor Donna Deegan to take a position on whether to raise the fee for residential trash service said he was pleased that Deegan went on record in support of the increase, but still wasn’t sure whether he would vote in favor of it.
The trash fee is scheduled for a final Council vote Feb. 11.
Council member Raul Arias voted against legislation for the fee increase in committee on Feb. 4 after a Council liaison for Deegan would not say whether the mayor would back the increase if Council passed it.
Citing a concern that Deegan would veto the legislation and leave Council to absorb backlash from residents on the issue, Arias said he would not change his vote unless Deegan committed to supporting the increase.
“It’s an issue that needs to be addressed in some way," Deegan said at a town hall meeting Feb. 5. "The can has been kicked down the road for too many years and it gets more expensive to solve the longer we wait.
"I truly appreciate the hard work that some Council Members have put into finding a solution. They’ve done it with courage, and a desire to work together to fix a problem they didn’t create. If the bill should pass as it's currently written, it looks good to me.”
On Feb. 6, Arias said Deegan’s support addressed his concern about a veto.
“I’m all about action, and she’s clearly taken action to put my mind at ease on that,” he said.
Arias said he still had concerns about the legislation, Ordinance 2025-0001. As revised in committees, the ordinance would raise the monthly fee from $12.65 to $27 for 2025, then increase it $2.50 per year in 2026 and 2027 to bring the total to $32.
Arias’ concern is over a provision requiring Council votes on each of the increases for 2026 and 2027. He said he did not want to subject Council to potential political fallout over the issue every year, especially with municipal elections coming in 2027.
His vote could be pivotal. Of 17 Council members who voted on the legislation during committee meetings, nine were in favor and Arias was one of eight opposed. The legislation, which was approved by three of the four committees that reviewed it, needs 10 votes to pass.
Arias said he was considering offering further amendments to the ordinance and was planning to meet with constituents over the weekend.
Those meetings, he said, would determine where he would side on the issue. He noted that the matter might not come down to his vote, as other Council members could swing either way on the ordinance.
The legislation is designed to bring the fee in line with the actual cost of trash service, which according to Council auditors is $30.40. For the city, which has been paying the difference, the subsidy could grow to as much as $500 million in 2031, as determined by auditors.
To cover the cost, the city has been taking out a “loan” from the city general fund, which is supported by property taxes. Due to the city’s interlocal agreements with the Beaches communities and Baldwin, which have their own contracts with trash service providers, the city cannot legally use the general fund money for trash pickup in Jacksonville.
Doing so essentially leaves the Beaches towns and Baldwin paying for both their own pickup and, through the property taxes they pay into the city of Jacksonville, service for Jacksonville residents.
Companion Ordinance 2025-0002 would allow households making 150% of the federal poverty rate to seek an exemption for the fee increases.
The Council will meet at 5 p.m. Feb. 11 at City Hall, 117 W. Duval St.