WELSH — Welsh residents and businesses will be seeing a price increase for garbage service beginning Oct. 1.

The Welsh Board of Alderman unanimously approved a $4.50 per can per month rate increase Tuesday for residential customers.

Under the plan, the residential rate will increase from $15 per month to $19.50 per can for curbside service and $27.50 per can per month for back door service which is available for homebound residents. Customers residing outside of the city limits will pay $23.50 a month per can for garbage pickup only.

The town has 1,307 residential customers.

Commercial rates will also increase from $30 per week to $34.50 for commercial customers with one 300-gallon can.

The cost for commercial customers will increase per can and frequency of pick-up.

The increase will not affect collection of limbs or white goods.

Mayor Karl Arceneaux said the town hopes to use the increased revenue to help create a reserve fund for the future purchase of a new garbage or limb truck.

“We are going to just set the funds aside for a new garbage or limb truck,” Arceneaux said. “And going by what we paid for the last garbage truck and what we need for a limb truck at $4.50 in four years that should get us about $300,000, not including interest or investments we may make on the money while we are collecting it – so in four years we should be able to buy a trash truck without any financing.”

The town last purchased a new garbage truck in 2018.

At that time a loan was used to buy the truck because the town did not have funds for the purchase.

The town last adjusted its garbage rates for commercial customers in April 2015. No changes were made to residential customers at that time.