Council Preview: Council to Consider Sanitary Rate Increase

Residents and Larkspur City Councilmembers will have a chance to weigh in regarding a proposed rate increase for garbage services. The Marin Sanitary Service, or MSS, has requested an increase of .22 percent.

That means that for Larkspur residents, their monthly garbage rate will go up 7 cents for a 32-gallon subscription, which is the most common, according to staff reports.

Initially MSS proposed a 5.41 percent increase to start Jan. 1, 2013, but after reviewing documents MSS agreed on a proposed .22 percent increase instead.

Councilmembers will discuss the rate increase proposal and the public will have an opportunity to comment during Wednesday’s council meeting.

Also on the agenda, councilmembers will discuss changes to the Larkspur city manager’s employment agreement. Under the new agreement, the city manager’s pay would not automatically increase if it’s not 10 percent above the salary of the highest-paid department head.

“This provision has never been applied to the city manager’s compensation and the city manager has requested its removal to eliminate potential conflicts of interest when he is reviewing the compensation of department heads,” according to the staff report.

Also, the city manager will pay the employee’s share of the cost to fund his pension, like all Larkspur employees.

The Larkspur City Council meeting is 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 6 in the Larkspur City Council chambers, second floor, 400 Magnolia Ave.

You can view the full agenda here.

What do you think? Do you support a sanitary rate increase? Tell us your thoughts in the comment section below. 

Stay Patched in! Follow Larkspur-Corte Madera Patch on Facebook and Twitter. Sign up for the daily newsletters.