ST. JOHN | After years of free service, residents in St. John might begin paying for garbage collection.

The Town Council tonight will consider an ordinance that would impose a garbage fee of $15 per month.

"We're the only town that still does not charge for garbage collection," Town Council President Michael Fryzel said.

As long as town officials can remember, the town has picked up the cost of garbage collection.

But budget constraints might change that, Fryzel said.

Although the council will review the ordinance, Fryzel said he does not think it will be adopted tonight. The council needs time to read through the ordinance, he said.

"When the fee affects residents, we really want to look at every avenue we can explore before we initiate it," he said.

The $15 a month rate would first show up on the July water bill, Town Manager Steve Kil said.

But, the Town Council can modify that amount, he said.

When the town reached an agreement last year with Allied Waste, it called for an escalating fee scale. That second phase goes into effect in June, raising the rate to $15.07 per household, Kil said.

"The intent of the garbage fee is to simply offset our cost," he said.

The town expects to pay about $772,000 in 2008 for residential garbage pickup. The town does not pay for garbage collection for businesses, Kil said.

St. John is growing, and garbage fees are increasing, he said.

"We've been monitoring this over the past several years," he said. "Now, we're at the point where we're struggling to keep up with the cost."

The town pays for garbage collection out of its general fund, which also funds the Police, Building and Planning, clerk-treasurer and Fire departments. Shifting the cost to residents would free up three-quarters of a million dollars that could go toward public safety, Kil said.

Kil said any time a town introduces new fees, there's some concern from residents.

"However this isn't a tax increase," he said. "This is an actual cost to the town. St. John is the only community out of everyone we surveyed that does not charge for trash removal. We put it off as long as financially possible."