These four factors combined to force ECUA to increase its sanitation rate in the last four years.
In addition to the rate increase, ECUA established a “fuel recovery fee” that is an add-on to the basic rate. This fuel recovery fee was $1.40 per month in the last quarter of 2008. In the first quarter of 2009, it will be $0.45 per month, reflecting the drop in fuel costs. This fee is identified on the bill as “Fee due to CTNY [County] ordinance,” for an arcane reason that I will not go into at this time.

2. Will ECUA raise the rate after “eliminating the competition”? I will mention again: ECUA operated its sanitation program for more than ten years without a rate increase. ECUA had an exclusive franchise in its service area throughout those years, but did not take advantage of its customers by imposing unnecessary rate increases. ECUA’s current rate is $4 per month less than the rate charged by the City of Pensacola to city residents.
Garbage collection is provided in most jurisdictions in a non-competitive manner, whether by a government body or by a private company operating through a franchise from a government body. Allied Waste operated through a non-competitive franchise in its former area.
Will ECUA rate increases occur? It is possible that a rate increase will be imposed for the next fiscal year, beginning on October 1. The County Commission has already approved an eight-percent tipping-fee increase, to take effect at that time, and this will add to ECUA’s operating costs. A hurricane here could add to ECUA’s operating costs. A hurricane anywhere else on the Gulf Coast could raise the price for keeping CDL-certified sanitation drivers. However, ECUA will not increase its rates simply because it has eliminated the competition.

3. What about the $1.95 charge for paying by credit card? ECUA has contracted with a company, Speedpay, to provide one method of payment. Speedpay pockets the $1.95. ECUA receives none of that charge. Customers who don’t want to pay the $1.95 have cheaper alternatives.
ECUA has searched for another company that would provide the bill-payment service at a lower charge, but has not found one. To companies that provide such services, ECUA is a small-scale operation which offers relatively little business to the bill-payment company; consequently, the charge-per-customer is relatively high. A bigger enterprise, such as Gulf Power, may obtain such a service for its customers at a much lower price and may even choose to eat the cost itself rather than require the customer to pay for the service.
If ECUA were to eat the $1.95 charge itself, it would have to increase the sanitation rate on all customers enough to cover the cost incurred. I have not supported that option.
ECUA gains nothing from customer use of Speedpay. I encourage customers to use a less expensive method of bill payment.

4. ECUA has bungled the start-up of the new sanitation program, including the takeover of the Allied franchise area and the initiation of recycling. ECUA has tried to do too much at one time. I apologize to all customers who did not receive (or have not received) a recycling can in a timely way.
Anyone with a complaint about ECUA is invited to contact me either by email (larry@larrywalker.com) or by telephone (723-6094).

What is the .45 charge ? I do not live in Century !!!!