BAKERSFIELD, California — After people in the Kern River Valley got mad about the trash tax fee and held protests, the Board of Supervisors decided to get rid of the increased areas and put off the start date until January 1, 2024.
The first date was supposed to start on July 1 of this year.
The plan said that Kern County Public Works had to cut the amount of organic waste thrown away in the state by 75% and give all household units three trash cans.
People from the Kern River Valley and Lake Isabella sent in more than 2,000 written complaints.
In public comments, people asked for a self-haul choice and for the vote to be put off for two weeks.
Senate Bill 1383 says that self-hauling is still a possibility, and Public Works said that this is still the case.
“I already self-sort my garbage. I compost and recycle, just like a lot of other people. Kern resident Margie Ruotsala said, “We would like to see this kind of self-service, self-sort, and self-haul be an option.”
When these extra costs are added to property taxes, the rates will go up to almost $560 per year.
Public works says that this rule must be followed in any place where there are more than 75 people per square mile.
Seniors said that their properties don’t make as much trash and that, since they have a set income, they don’t want to pay for something they can’t afford, which will show up on their taxes.
“It’s also not fair to our seniors,” said Donald Jones, who lives in Kern. “They are probably going to lose their homes because they can’t pay their taxes or bills. Even for them, it doesn’t make sense.”