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CC - PUBLIC HEARING: Adoption of a Resolution Confirming the Levy and Collection of Solid Waste Fees for Fiscal Years 2026/2027 through 2030/2031.
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Meeting Date: May 26, 2026
Contact/Dept.: Sean Singletary/Public Works Department
Phone Number: (310) 253-6457
Fiscal Impact: Yes [X] No [ ] General Fund: Yes [ ] No [X]
Attachments: Yes [X] No [ ]
Public Notification: E-Mail: Meetings and Agendas - City Council (05/21/2026); Mailer to all property and business owners (04/11/2026); Email of public hearing notice (Subscribers of Culver City News and Events, EPO Consultants, Environmental Programs and Events, or Sustainability/Environmental Issues (04/24/2026).
Dept Approval: Yanni Demitri, Public Works Director/City Engineer (04/23/2026)
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RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council adopt a Resolution confirming the levy and collection of solid waste fees, effective July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2031.
PROCEDURE
1. Mayor seeks a motion from the City Council to receive and file correspondence received in response to the public hearing notices; and,
2. Mayor calls for a staff report, and the City Council Members may pose questions to staff as desired; and,
3. Mayor seeks a motion to open the public hearing; and,
4. Mayor seeks a motion to close the public hearing after all public testimony has been presented; and,
5. The City Council discusses the item and arrives at its decision.
BACKGROUND
Culver City’s Environmental Programs & Operations (EPO) division of the Public Works Department provides solid waste and recycling services to approximately 8,000 residential and 1,500 business accounts, funded entirely by user charges through the City’s Enterprise Refuse Fund. The Division operates sixteen collection routes and manages the City-owned Transfer Station with a capacity to process 500 tons of solid waste, organics and recycling per day.
The City’s solid waste services include refuse, recycling, organics, and construction and demolition collection, street sweeping, and transfer services to residential and commercial customers. The City has an exclusive franchise for the provision of these services, which allows the City to provide the highest quality of customer service to residents at a cost lower than surrounding municipalities. Exclusivity also allows the City to directly control collections to maximize material recovery in accordance with local and state regulations and City priorities, including full compliance with SB 1383.
In the past decade, solid waste collection costs have increased dramatically due to factors largely outside the Department’s control, including:
• Recycling and organics costs have risen due to shrinking recycling markets and new composting requirements under SB 1383.
• Transportation costs have increased due to cleaner fuel requirements and longer hauling routes after nearby facility closures.
• Closure of trash facilities such as Chiquita Canyon Landfill have reduced local capacity, driving up costs regionally.
• Transfer Station improvements are needed for safety and environmental compliance, including new push walls, tipping floor repairs, and stormwater capture upgrades.
• Costs have increased for equipment, fuel, and staffing.
To partially offset rising costs, EPO continues to implement cost saving and increased revenue generating measures, including partnering with outside agencies such as Santa Monica to process additional waste through our Transfer Station to maximize capacity; regularly auditing commercial and residential customer accounts to identify and correct billing errors; updating the City’s routing and billing software to improve efficiency and quality control; reducing the use of contract labor; and optimizing truck routes to equalize the routes and reduce employee overtime.
EPO recovers its costs of operations through solid waste fees charged to customers. In 2021, the City Council approved a five-year adjustment that increased fees approximately 45% between Fiscal Year 2021-22 and 2025-26.
In 2025, the Department retained the services of an outside financial consultant, SCS Engineers, Inc. to analyze operations and prepare an engineer’s report beginning Fiscal Year 2026-27 to determine the City’s cost of service and inform potential new solid waste fees.
On April 13, 2026, the City Council adopted a resolution that approved the Engineer’s Report, declared its intention to order the assessment levy and collections of assessments, and set the date, time, and place for the public hearing. On April 11, 2026, a notice was mailed to each property owner and business owner advising that the Solid Waste Fees will be increased effective July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2031, listing the public hearing date and describing procedures for submitting a written protest to the City Clerk prior to the public hearing. Notice of the public hearing was also distributed by email through Gov Delivery.
DISCUSSION
Staff is recommending that the City increase Solid Waste Fees by 9% for Fiscal Year 2026-27; increase by 8% for Fiscal Year 2027-28; and increase annually by 5% for Fiscal Years 2028-29 through 2030-31 for a total increase of 36% over the five-year period.
Proposition 218 applies to solid waste fees both in terms of calculation of rates and in the procedures required to adopt them. Proposition 218 imposes the following standards on the amount of fees that can be charged:
• Revenues derived from the fee or charge must not exceed the funds required to provide the property-related service;
• Revenues derived from the fee or charge must not be used for any purpose other than that for which the fee was imposed;
• The amount of a fee or charge imposed upon any parcel must not exceed the proportional cost of services attributable to the parcel, though a parcel by parcel analysis is not required before imposing the fee;
• The fee or charge may not be imposed for a service unless the service is actually used by, or immediately available, to the owner of the property subject to the fee or charge;
• No fee or charge may be imposed for general services, where the service is available to the public in substantially the same manner as it is to property owners.
The Engineer’s Report adopted on April 13 provides detailed analysis as to how the proposed rates comply with these substantive requirements.
In addition, Proposition 218 requires that the City follow specific procedures to adopt a new or increased fee. As noted above, a notice was sent to all record owners of parcels which will pay the proposed fees, which included information about the proposed fees, a link to the full engineer’s cost of service report, and instructions for submitting written protests. For the past 45 days, the City has accepted written protests to the proposed increased fees, and may continue to accept them until the close of the public hearing. In accordance with Proposition 218 and its implementing statutes, if the City receives written protests from a majority of owners of identified parcels, the proposed fees cannot be adopted. However, absent a majority protest, the City may adopt the resolution imposing the increased fee schedule. Additionally, staff may respond to specific protests if necessary to clarify or refute assertions of substantive or procedural defects.
A comparison of refuse rates from surrounding communities including the City of Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and Santa Monica shows that, even with the increases proposed, Culver City’s rates will be among the lowest in the region for most customers.
Staff is recommending adopting the proposed user service charges schedule effective July 1, 2026.
Related Refuse Topics Raised by City Council
Over the past year, questions and concerns have been raised by Council about other solid waste topics, which staff has summarized and discussed below.
• Construction & Demolition - Use of Outside Services Not Permitted
Per City Municipal Code 5.01.010, the handling of solid waste and recyclable waste material is performed exclusively by the City or its authorized agents. This exclusivity allows the City to control costs, keeping costs lower than surrounding agencies; ensure that all eligible construction materials are being diverted from the waste stream to the maximum extent feasible; and practice quality control to ensure that transportation of waste through the City is accomplished with the highest environmental standards, such as using secure bins and sustainable fuels. EPO and Public Works Inspectors monitor bins throughout the City, and if an outside bin is seen, it is cited and removed.
Occasionally, developers or residents will request an exemption from the ordinance, citing cheaper costs or improved project efficiency by using private haulers. The City only rarely approves these requests when the scale of a project is beyond the scope of the City’s ability to manage the waste or beyond the capacity of the Transfer Station and its Public Health permit.
• Shared Commercial Services and Billing
EPO’s inspectors, drivers and managers evaluate service City-wide on a daily basis and update customer services accordingly as businesses change hands, the proportionate mix of waste shifts between the three streams, and customers request updates. More congested areas, such as the Downtown Business Area, have limited waste storage capability and as a result many customers share trash enclosures, which are then billed proportionally based on staff observations. This practice can occasionally lead to questions about how charges are applied to individual businesses. At the May 12, 2025 City Council meeting, several businesses located in the vicinity of the Kirk Douglas Theater expressed concerns about rates that had recently been updated based on staff observations. Some businesses, not previously charged at all were surprised by the new charges. Others were alarmed at their increased percentage of the updated rates. The Refuse fees adjustments for these businesses were paused at that time to allow staff to re-evaluate and give the businesses time to adjust to new costs. Beginning July 1, 2026, these businesses will be billed at their appropriate rates.
• Fees Moving from the City’s User Fee Schedule to the Solid Waste Fee Schedule
The City completed a Citywide User Fee Study in 2024 and some refuse fees were included in that analysis. EPO’s financial consultant SCS recommended that these fees be lowered and shifted to the Solid Waste Study rate sheet, removing them from the Citywide User Fee Study. The shifted fees for optional services include: Container Cleaning Fee; Container Exchange Fee; Residential Extra Pick-Up Fee (retitled Additional Pick-Up); Late Container Set-Out Fee; and Birthday Truck Fee (retitled Special Event Truck fee). This change will be reflected in the updated User Fee Schedules.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
The proposed Solid Waste Fees for Fiscal Years 2026-2027 through 2030-2031 are projected to balance the Refuse Fund operating budget. The Refuse Fund is an enterprise fund and does not impact the General Fund. The Refuse Fund must remain balanced in order for the City to continue to provide high quality, comprehensive solid waste services and remain in compliance with state and local laws.
The Proposition 218 Omnibus Implementation Act authorizes the City Council to adopt rate increases for up to five fiscal years. So, staff will need to return to City Council in Fiscal Year 2030-2031 to discuss adopting later increases listed in the Engineer’s Report.
ATTACHMENTS
• 2026-05-26 - ATT1-Refuse Engineer’s Solid Waste Service Report
• 2026-05-26 - ATT2-Proposed Resolution 2026 Refuse Collection Fees - Resolution of Levy
• 2026-05-26 - ATT3-Solid Waste Rates Presentation
recommended action
MOTION(S)
That the City Council:
(Absent a majority protest)
Adopt a resolution confirming the assessment of Solid Waste Fees and ordering the levy and collection of Solid Waste Fees, effective July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2031.