In recent weeks, residents of the Stevenson Ranch and Westridge communities have raised questions regarding the fuel surcharge that Waste Management instituted last year. As the price of fuel increased many companies pasted those costs onto customers in the form of a fuel surcharge that was added to regular service bills.
Now that fuel costs are coming down closer to 2005 levels; the question is being raised that these charges should be reduced and/or eliminated. The West Ranch Town Council extended an invitation to representatives of Waste Management to attend the November Council meeting to discuss the fuel surcharge issue. Waste Management officials have declined the invitation.
This appears to be a strategic mistake on the part of Waste Management as it has raised concerns that there is more to this story than meets the eye. As it turns out, only the unincorporated residents are being charged the fuel surcharge; city residents are not being charged this additional cost. That begs the question; are the unincorporated residents subsidizing the trash collection for the City of Santa Clarita residents?
Waste Management officials declined to speak about the fuel surcharge and would only direct inquiries to their website. The fuel surcharge was no where to be found on either the local or national web site. The matter will be discussed further at the Council meeting on November 1st.