Mt. Carmel garbage rates look to be going up starting in December. At this evening’s city council meeting, city clerk Ryan Turner said outlined the first reading of the ordinance that will increase rates 75 cents a month from $19 to $19.75 starting on December 20th. Then on July 20th of next year, the rate will go up another 50 cents to $20.25 a month. At the previous city council meeting, garbage commissioner Susan Zimmerman said the increases were necessary because of price hikes from Republic Services. And while city finances are in good shape, commissioner Eric Ikemire said the garbage fund falls into a different category…

Turner also pointed out that the garbage fee isn’t solely used for trash pickup. It’s also used to fund the brush pickup and leaf vac programs. The council is expected to formally adopt the rate increases at their meeting in two weeks.