Higher trash bills but less public safety cuts: How Sparks residents feel about tradeoff

SPARKS, Nev. (News 4 & Fox 11) — Waste Management bills for Sparks residents will soon be going up by roughly $8 per quarter after the Sparks City Council this week approved a tradeoff in the name of public safety.

By a 3-2 vote, the council voted to increase the city’s franchise fee by 10%, generating an additional $3 million per year — money which does not stay with Waste Management but is instead transferred directly to the city.

The extra revenue allowed the council to restore funding for 5 public safety positions which were set to be cut, including 3 fire department positions and 2 police department positions.

It raises the franchise fee for Rail City residents to 18%, which is by far the highest franchise fee in northern Nevada. Both Reno and Washoe County have set franchise fees at 8%.

The increase comes just a few months after Waste Management raised rates in Sparks by 4% based on the consumer price index approved by the federal government.

Council members grappled with the difficult choice during Monday’s meeting, with some worrying about added financial pressure from higher utility bills and others arguing it’s one of the only ways the city can generate more revenue for public safety.

“We have to be very conscious how much can our citizens take? How much can our businesses take?” asked councilman Paul Anderson.

“We are having a rate increase across the board on all of these. People are going to be in sometimes worse situations than they are today,” said councilman Donald Abbott.

But councilman Joe Rodriguez argued in favor of the franchise fee increase because it’s one of the only ways that local governments in Nevada can generate more revenue. He said Sparks is particularly hurt by a lower-than-expected increase in sales tax revenues because it receives a smaller portion of sales tax revenue than Reno.

“There’s not a whole lot we as local governments can do to try to generate revenue,” Rodriguez said. “People I talk to in my ward, they want the cops, they want firefighters.”

The increase will cause most Sparks customers’ Waste Management bills to go up by roughly $32 in total annually. It was unclear when the increase will be reflected on customers’ bills.

“I’m okay, I do feel sorry for these people on fixed incomes, it’s a little harder for them but what are you going to do?” said Sparks resident Tasha Ehlers.

“I think it’s a good idea, I think we can afford $32 a year to get more protection for our city,” said Sparks resident Barbara Linde.

“It’s a tough call. I’m not really sure, I’d rather my fees not go up. I wish there was another way we could find the money to fund our firefighters and police officers,” said Sparks resident Jennifer Gomolka.

Even though the five public safety positions were able to be restored, the Sparks Fire Department and Sparks Police Department staffs will be reduced by 9% and 10%, respectively, through a combination of frozen positions, voluntary employee buyouts and layoffs.’

The public safety workforce reductions are smaller compared to other city departments — human resources, financial services and management services will all see workforce reductions of at least 30%.

Email reporter Ben Margiott at bjmargiott@sbgtv.com. Follow @BenMargiott on X and Ben Margiott KRNV on Facebook.