Twice as many St. Joseph County residents will be eligible for an âearly-birdâ rate to have their leaves picked up this year, after the county Board of Commissioners agreed to pay an extra $75,000 in customer subsidies to the private vendor running the program.
Under a modified contract the commissioners approved Tuesday with St. Joe County Recycling, the first 3,000 residents to subscribe to the program will pay a discounted fee of $99, an increase from the 1,500 subscribers who got that rate for the 2020 season.
The contract calls for the county to pay the company a subsidy of $232 for each of the first 1,500 residents to sign up, similar to the previous version of the contract. But the extra $75,000 will allow for subsidies of $50 each for another 1,500 subscribers to receive the early rate.