Robert Darrow, @properties

During their session on Wednesday, May 13, the Chicago City Council passed a watered down version of the commercial trash container tax.  It seems that after some investigation, the City Council learned that there are more commercial trash bins than originally thought.

Your guide thinks “No ***, Sherlock.”

Swept up in the new tax are the thousands of individual row homes throughout Chicago where each household has its own container.  But any building that contains more than four homes – and row homes are considered all part of one building – must have its own commercial waste hauling service.

The minimum fee has been lowered from $80 to $51.  That’s an annual fee.  And to quote Alderman (Vi Daley, Lincoln Park) the new tax is designed to pay for the inspections that ensure that private alleys and private trash bins are kept to the high standards set by the City of Chicago’s alleys.

Yes, you read that right!

And of course, this still impacts our fairly typical townhome community with 100 homes with an unexpected, un-budgeted tax of $5,100.  Each year.

Remarkably, previous posts here as well as mass emails to my neighbors hardly registered a blip.  Well the bills are already in the mail for the fees.  I’ll be sure to report back after all my residents get their $51 whack on their June 1 assessment invoice.

The Chicago Tribune reports all the details here.

Mayor Daley has not signed the legislation yet.  It’s a million to one long-shot, but it might be worth a call to the Mayor’s office if you feel strongly that this isn’t a fair tax on home owners.

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