It's your money. Dozens of new fees proposed by Mayor John Peyton could take cash right out of your pocket.
One of them has you paying twice as much as you do now. Every time we take our trash out to the curb, you know the city will come get it, but it costs you some money. If the mayor gets his way, you'll be paying a lot more to get this hauled away.
Taxpayer after taxpayer went up in front of city council Tuesday night. "Why should the poor and middle class people pay more so the society elite can retire with a pension," said one man. "You people don't know what it's like to be broke," said another man.
The mayor is proposing dozens of fee increases and taking out your trash could cost you big bucks. Right now, you pay 6 dollars a month or 72 dollars a year. The mayor wants to double that, making you pay more than 12 dollars a month and just over 151 dollars a year.
City Council President Richard Clark says even though the increases aren't on the agenda yet, "I think it's a possibility a lot of fees will go up."
The city is facing a 50 million dollar deficit. President Clark says it's tough for them to make these decisions, knowing people are already strapped, but he says something has to change. "At the end of the day, until people start getting back to work, things are going to continue to be tough," said President Clark.
Just as a reference we have numbers for what other parts of Duval County charge for garbage fees. They range from 13 to 22 dollars a month in Baldwin, Atlantic, Neptune and Jacksonville Beaches.