WINTER SPRINGS, Fla. — Winter Springs residents will soon see increases on their trash service bill, and the sticker shock of the coming rate hike is catching some of the city's 10,000 city residents off guard.

Of the seven major cities in Seminole County, Winter Springs currently pays the lowest rate in trash fees.

In 2024 the roughly $18 month trash bill will see an increase of about 26% to $22.81 — which would still leave Winter Springs with the second cheapest trash fee in the county.

Come 2025, city residents will see another 26% increase followed by a 5% increase in 2026 and then a 4% annual increase through the year 2031.

City Mayor Kevin McCann said the city’s line item for trash fees would be in the red for years to come if they didn’t raise the rates.

“We will be upside down,” he said. “We will be in the negative if we do not bring our rates into a reasonable level in the marketplace.”

But former Winter Springs City Commissioner Ken Greenberg said he believes the timing of the rate hike is off.

"The Waste Pro contract doesn’t even expire until 2027,” Greenberg said. “So there was no need to do anything today.”

Greenberg moved to Winter Springs roughly 13 years ago, and while he doesn’t have an official vote anymore with the council, he still regularly attends hearings and meetings that impact his bottom line as a city taxpayer.

“People are outraged, they are angry,” he said. “They don’t understand — why, if you are paying .65 cents (to Waste Pro), why are you charging us $10 over two years to profit?"

Greenberg also points out that with the increased fees, the city will be on track to collect about a million dollars over the next few years from the increase in trash fees.

It's money the mayor says is needed to fund the reserves for trash.

“Without that increase we are looking at a $18 million deficit in the next 10 years,” said McCann.