News 12 at 6 o'clock, August 19, 2008

AUGUSTA, Ga.---The price of taking out the trash just got more expensive.Augusta city administrator Fred Russell made the announcement at Tuesday's commission meeting.

You will now pay $11 dollars more a year just to keep things going at the same rate, and there's no debating it. That's the minimum amount the city could increase fees without commission approval.

"We've kept it as low as we possibly can. We probably should have looked a little bit higher, but we understand the need of the community. We understand what's going on with our people, and we're doing the minimum we can to continue to survive with a viable program," said Fred Russell.

You will now pay $278 a year for your garbage fee. You should see the increase on tax bills that are expected to go out in September.