Article: San Jose Mercury News, Calif., Action Line column: How to fight increases in waste-collection rates.

Byline: Dennis Rockstroh

Apr. 24--Q I saw the article about the San Jose garbage rates (Action Line, April 12), and the situation is worse than what was mentioned.

The letter from the city of San Jose, besides the proposed 29 percent increase, also mentions maximum increases of 10 percent for both fiscal years 2008-09 and 2009-10.

So, the current rate for a 32-gallon garbage cart (typical) is $20.15 and is slated to go to $25.99 on July 1, 2007, if the fee is set at the requested maximum.

If we apply the 10 percent increases, the rate will compound to $31.45 a month on July 1, 2010.

These new rates seem high compared with ...

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