Effective Oct. 1, 2026, the City of Gainesville is changing the way it bills for Solid Waste Services and Stormwater Management Utility.
Effective October 2026, the City of Gainesville is changing the way it bills for Solid Waste Services and Stormwater Management Utility.
Since the 1980s, Solid Waste and Stormwater Management Utility (SMU) fees have been included on GRU bills. Starting this October, the city is transferring billing to non-ad valorem special assessments, and the special assessments will be billed annually on property tax bills and collected by the Alachua County Tax Collector.
Special assessments are used by many local governments throughout Florida to assure that this essential service is adequately funded. Unlike a tax, a special assessment must be developed to recover each property’s proportionate share of the costs and can only be used to fund those services.