Brewton households will pay an extra $3 per month for garbage pickup as of Aug. 1.

The city council approved the garbage fee increase Tuesday as a way to stem the bleeding in the sanitation department budget.

“We’re having trouble meeting expenses,” public works director Dwayne King told council members.

An increase in landfill fees charged to the city by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, as well as the need for updated equipment, caused the deficit, City Clerk John Angel said.

“This is not frivolous by any means,” he said.

The council passed an ordinance that increases garbage fees from $18 per month to $21 per month. The fee covers one garbage pickup and one trash pickup per household per week.

King told the council the department’s deficit is about $80,000 currently.

The city currently contracts with two different companies for garbage and trash pickup. Recycling is not offered, but the ordinance the council passed states that “recycling will be addressed when services are available.”

In researching the need for a fee increase, Angel said he studied nearby cities’ garbage fees. East Brewton residents pay $24 per month for garbage pickup once a week and trash pickup once a month.

Flomaton residents pay $14.37 for once-a-week garbage pickup; there is no trash pickup.

Evergreen residents pay $16 for garbage pickup once a week, and trash is picked up only when residents call and is charged by weight.

Atmore has the same weekly service as Brewton, at a charge of $20 per month. Monroeville’s similar service is $15 per month.