MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Miami-Dade County commissioners approved increase in the cost of countywide trash service, meaning residents will have to pay more.
They voted on Wednesday, saying they had no choice but to raise fees.
A vote to address an emerging waste management crisis in Miami-Dade passed by a slim 7-to-6 margin.
The vote increases county residents’ waste management bill by $38 a year.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said the money will help keep trash pickup afloat countywide, but it won’t address the growing crisis of how to keep disposing of garbage generated by a county with nearly 3,000,000 residents.
The trash incinerator facility that went up in flames back in February is still non-operational.
Cava said there are plans in the works to rebuild it and expand existing landfills.
Miami-Dade Commissioner Keon Hardemon said the hike should’ve been higher, proposing a $116 dollar increase.
“We have champagne desires but a sugar water diet,” said Hardemon.
Commission Vice Chairman Anthony Rodriguez voted against the rate increase.
“We cannot continue raising the cost of living to our residents here in Miami-Dade County,” he said.