The Waukesha City Finance Committee on Sept. 30 voted to recommend that the Common Council adopt Resolution 2025-17, creating an annual $160 special charge for residential garbage and recycling collection and disposal.

The proposal would move costs now paid from the city’s general fund into a dedicated special revenue fund, put the charge on property tax bills as a “special charge” and remove about $2 million from the property tax levy, city staff said. City staff estimated the fee would be assessed per household unit and that a typical single-family homeowner with a $350,000 home would see a net increase of about $49 in their overall 2026 bill after the levy reduction (figures staff described as estimates and subject to change).

The fee is intended to cover the city’s contract for residential collection and disposal and to give the city a mechanism to adjust revenues for rising costs instead of leaving garbage and recycling in the general operating fund, staff said.

In a presentation to the committee, Joe Sherrill, the city’s finance director, described the city’s five‑year operating projection and the constraints created by state levy limits. “We anticipate, just over $84,000,000 in revenues” for 2025, Sherrill said, and warned that under current assumptions expenses are projected to overtake revenues in later years without new revenue actions. Tony Brown, city staff who led the garbage and recycling presentation, told the committee the charge would be “a flat user based charge that is moved from the general fund to a dedicated special revenue fund.” Brown recommended adoption of Resolution 2025‑17 and said both the mayor and staff supported it.

Public commenters at the meeting raised concerns about fairness and impact. Adele Vogel, who said she lives at 1090 Baxter Street, told the committee, “I’m concerned about the $160 surcharge,” and said she worried landlords would pass the cost to tenants. Frank Palm, a resident at 625 Chicago Avenue, calculated roughly 30,000 households in the city and asked whether that would generate nearly $4.8 million; staff said the city’s net estimate was lower and that the committee’s proposal would have roughly a $3.2 million net impact on the budget projections presented.

Committee members pressed staff on details such as whether residents or property owners could opt out (Brown said there would not be an opt‑out), how the charge would apply to multifamily units (Brown said the charge would be per household unit), and whether vacant units would be billed (staff said they had not developed a statutory approach to waive charges for long vacancies but could research the issue). Alderman Lemke noted condominiums and private roads where residents already pay privately for collection and said the change could equalize who pays for service.

Mayor Riley addressed the committee and urged residents to consider the statewide funding context. He said levy limits and reduced state shared revenue have left municipalities with few revenue tools and described the proposal as one way to “partially address a broken municipal financial system.”

After discussion and public comment, the committee chair moved to recommend adoption of Resolution 2025‑17; the motion was seconded and passed by unanimous voice vote. Tony Brown said the next step, if council approves the resolution, would include statutorily required notice to affected households and further public outreach in 2026, including a community survey and focus groups on service priorities.

The committee’s recommendation will go to the Common Council for final consideration on the next council agenda.