BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Gate fees at the City of Bakersfield Recycling Center were supposed to take effect last summer. Now, after multiple delays, local business owners say the uncertainty is making it harder to plan and price their work.
The city’s proposed increase would raise commercial vehicle disposal fees from $59.23 to $61.21 per ton.
The changes were initially scheduled to roll out on July 1, 2025, then pushed to January, and later February. As of now, the fees still haven’t gone into effect.
For small business owners like Ricky Keel, owner of Fence Menders, the constant delays have created confusion.
“When’s it going to happen? They keep saying January, February well, I have jobs to estimate,” Keel said.
Keel says waste disposal is a regular part of his business, especially when replacing old fencing.
He’s unsure whether to start charging customers now for a fee that hasn’t officially begun or risk being unprepared when it finally does.
“Do I now, since I have 14 more estimates this weekend, charge them that fee now, or are they going to postpone it again?” he asked.
According to the City of Bakersfield, the delay is partly due to feedback from businesses like Keel’s, along with logistical challenges at the recycling facility.
City representative Joe Conroy says the city also needs to install new equipment before the fees can be enforced.
“We were supposed to start January 1st of this year. That’s actually been delayed because we need some equipment to be installed at the facility,” Conroy said.
City officials say the changes are also meant to close loopholes that allowed some users to avoid paying fees, costing the city money.
New state-mandated requirements have added pressure to update the system.
For Keel, the impact is tangible.
He says a single trip to the recycling center with wood debris can cost him significantly.
“That could be about a ton to two tons, costing me about $150 a trip,” he said.
Those added costs, Keel says, won’t stop with him.
Eventually, customers will feel it too.
“Right now, I pretty much give customers free dumping with the installation of a new fence. Now I’ve got to start charging them $60 or more a ton,” Keel said.
For now, commercial vehicles are not being charged gate fees.
The City of Bakersfield says it expects the new fees to take effect around April.
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