Council President Chris Smith on change to sanitation rates for apartment complexes: Little impact to City's budget
The December sanitation rate hike was "the right decision."
This article appeared in the July 17, 2025, BossierNow morning email. We offer free and paid plans.
At Tuesday's Bossier City Council meeting, an ordinance was introduced to amend sanitation rates for residential apartment complexes or residential facilities. Sponsored by at-large councilmember Craton Cochran, there was no discussion on how the revision would impact the annual budget shortfall that the City has been experiencing.
Council President Chris Smith tells BossierNow that he doesn't expect a large impact, "if there is one at all."
In December 2024, City CAO Amanda Nottingham said the City lost $4.3 million in 2023 providing sanitation, water, and sewer services — and the budget pressure would likely require a tax hike and higher utility bills. In January, the council approved the administration's rate hike of a $6 increase in flat-rate monthly water bills and a $12 increase in sanitation fees.
However, in May, apartment complex owners and managers complained about what they said amounted to "14,000% increases in sanitation rates."
Smith says the enterprise fund supported by the $12 per customer rate hike is over currently $100,000 under budget on expenses.
The ordinance introduced this week and set for a final vote at the council's next meeting revises collections for apartment complexes to 80% of units, rather than 100%.
"I understand the complaint that it’s not fair for property owners to be charged for units that are vacant but at the same time there is no mechanism to truly know the current occupancy month to month," Smith said. "So as a real estate professional, I proposed that we use the national average vacancy rate for rental properties as a baseline that is consistent and doesn’t change."
The December sanitation rate hike was "the right decision," Smith added.
"The property owners should have been paying this fee for years prior. It was the implementation where mistakes were made. If you are paying $12 a month and then you open a bill and find out that $12 went to $6,000, that’s a tough pill to swallow."
