A trash fee of $100 per dwelling unit is hereby established,
effective July 1, 2012, on all residential structures of six units
or less. Residential structures of more than six units currently serviced
by the City of Beverly will continue to be serviced at $100 per unit.
A minimum fee of $300 is hereby established for all commercial
entities currently being serviced by the City of Beverly. The final
fee and conditions shall be subject to the determination of the Director
of Engineering, Commissioner of Public Services, Public Works, who
shall establish a written standard therefor.
[Amended 11-16-2015 by Ord. No. 481]
(Based on Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH HUD Metro FMR Area,
Current FY Income Limits Documentation, as amended from time to time.)
A. Senior citizens. Any senior citizen (65 years or older) who owns
and occupies a single dwelling unit with an income of $33,050 or less
for a single adult, or $37,800 or less for two or more adults, will
be eligible for a fifty-percent discount of this fee.
B. Hardship cases. The fee for any citizen who owns and occupies a single-family
home or condominium with an income of $19,850 or less for a single
adult, or $22,650 or less for two or more adults, will be waived.
C. Eligibility. Eligibility for a senior citizen discount or hardship
waiver shall be determined by using the adjusted gross income (AGI)
number found on the IRS 1040, 1040A, or 1040EZ Form, or, if no income
tax return has been filed for tax years 2012 or 2013, equivalent documentation
of income, to be provided to the Director of Engineering, Commissioner
of Public Services, Public Works under the pains and penalties of
perjury. Age shall be documented by a driver's license, birth certificate,
or equivalent proof. Any resident with a "life estate" interest in
a residential property will be treated as if he and/or she were the
record owners of the property. In one-, two- or three-family housing
types where the tenant and the homeowner both meet the eligibility
requirements for the waiver or both meet the eligibility requirements
for the discount, such waiver or discount shall be granted to the
homeowner.
D. Vacancies. Any property owner who owns an unoccupied unit shall be
eligible to receive a credit for each full six-month period for which
the unit is not occupied. Property owners must provide documentation
to the Director of Engineering, Commissioner of Public Services, Public
Works, signed under the pains and penalties of perjury, demonstrating
that the unit was vacant during the entire six-month billing period
for which such credit is requested. Eligibility shall be determined
by the Director of Engineering, Commissioner of Public Services, Public
Works using a water bill or, in cases where a unit's water meter is
not separate from another unit, a letter or billing statement from
the electric company.
E. Violations and penalties. The Director of Engineering, Commissioner
of Public Services, Public Works shall assess applicants a fine of
not more than $250 for submitting false documentation.
Any fee not paid within 60 days of the demand shall become,
upon application of the Treasurer-Collector of the City of Beverly,
a lien upon the property.
The annual fee will be collected in quarterly statements billed
on the same cycle as the subject property's water and sewer bill cycle.
This fee shall not be increased for any reason other than to
offset an increase in the incineration cost per ton ("tipping fee")
or an increase in the contractual trash removal cost; and in such
cases, the trash fee may not be increased beyond an amount equal to
the increases in these costs.
Any person who can demonstrate and document to the satisfaction
of the Director of Engineering, Commissioner of Public Services, Public
Works an alternative lawful disposal method may apply for an exemption
from the fee.