A fee increase for trash, recycling and yard waste collections in West Lafayette seems likely. Council members discussed a proposal Thursday afternoon to raise the monthly rate from $9 to $16for residents. Councilor Eddie VanBogaert expects the measure to pass, but thinks it still may need fine-tuning. He says the proposed changes would put more of a burden on some low-income residents who cannot opt out of fees. "I've had people contact me and say, 'I don't want trash service, I've eliminated all my waste,' and I say, 'well sorry, you're still going to receive this bill.' So it's mandatory,” he says. “Given the fact that it's going up by as much as it is, we have to have an exception in there that works for people that are struggling." The revised ordinance does offer a 50% reduced rate for low-income residents. VanBogaert says it’s important to bump up fees now, to keep up with the increasing cost of providing service. The last increase in trash rate came in 1993. The latest change
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