Mentone City Council Approves Sanitation Fee Adjustments with Rollout from January 2027

The Mentone City Council approved its 2027 operating budget on July 7, including phased sanitation fee adjustments that apply to all residential accounts starting in January 2027.

The votes addressed funding shortfalls in the sanitation division that the council's budget documents identified after equipment replacement costs rose in the prior fiscal year. Council records show the division maintains collection routes serving every residential address in the city limits.

Changes to Resident Billing and Services

Mentone households will see the new rates reflected on quarterly bills mailed in early 2027. The adjustments cover scheduled truck replacements and route optimization that the public works department projects will maintain current collection frequency for single-family homes and apartment buildings alike.

Local advocates note that the fee structure ties directly to per-household waste volume reported in the division's annual audit. Residents who already separate recyclables will continue under the existing discount categories listed in the adopted resolution.

The budget papers allocate 1.8 million from the capital reserve specifically for sanitation fleet upgrades, a figure drawn from the same line item used in the 2025 and 2026 budgets.

Next Steps and Timeline

City staff will mail updated rate schedules to all accounts by December 2026. The government says the policy will produce first collections under the new amounts on the January billing cycle, with any appeals processed through the existing utility customer service office on Main Street.

Further council review of the sanitation division's performance metrics is scheduled for the October 2026 work session, at which point route data collected through September will be presented for public comment.