Oviedo residents to see 17% solid waste rate hike June 1

Oviedo residents are set to see a substantial increase in their garbage fee in the coming weeks.

After discussing what was determined to be a needed influx of funds to help the city’s solid waste program remain self-sufficient at its March 30 work session, the Oviedo City Council voted unanimously to approve a 17% garbage fee hike to $29.29 per month, beginning June 1.

Residents will continue to see smaller annual increases on each subsequent Oct. 1 — including this year — to fend off inflation through at least 2030, by which time it would have risen to $32.16.

”To keep the reserves above water, I think it’s something we’ve got to do,” Councilmember Jeff Boddiford said. “You hate having to increase fees, but, again, it’s a service to the residents that you’re getting weekly trash service, you’re getting weekly recycling, you’re getting weekly yard waste, you’re getting … bulk [waste removal].

“It’s a good service that we’re providing to the community; it’s just costs are going up, and we have to take costs up, as well,” he said. 

This is not the first time in recent years that Oviedo residents have seen increases to city bills, as stormwater and water utility rates increased significantly in February 2025.

”I pay more for water and trash in Oviedo than my power bill,” Facebook user Samuel Kaiser wrote on OCN’s Facebook post following the March 30 work session. “This city is absurd with their fees.”

On Oct. 1, 2016, solid waste rates were $19.64, followed by rates of $19.76 on the same date in 2017 and 2018, $20.43 in 2019 and $22.98 in 2020.

In 2021, solid waste rates were increased by $2.02 per month to $25, where the number has stayed in the five years since. With the flat rate, the city has seen a decline in its solid waste fund balance from its peak of $263,000 in 2023 to $100,000 on Oct. 1, 2025, with a projected deficit in 2026 and beyond if the rate would have remained at its current level.

“One of the benefits of paying for this kind of thing with fees is that we are transparent with how much money we collect, and how much money goes out,” Councilmember Alan Ott said. “We are getting charged more money by the county and by the contractor, and this is how it has to go. We have to pay for it and this is the way it works.”

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