Indio will help businesses pay for trash enclosures to ensure compliance with city rules

The city of Indio is set to launch a new program that will assist businesses with the cost of complying with certain provisions regarding trash enclosures, in accordance with Ordinance 3.02.08.

All dumpsters will have to be secured behind a door that locks and be covered on top.

“We got a lot of feedback from our communities stating that people kept breaking into the trash enclosures, throwing all the trash out," said Jose Ramirez, Management Analyst with the City Manager's office.

Businesses that participate in the trash enclosure program will receive financial assistance and technical support from the city. Businesses are encouraged to begin the application process and could eligible to receive full reimbursement for construction costs up to $20,000.

Funding for the trash enclosure program will be sourced from the city's general fund, which is composed of various revenue sources, including sales tax revenue, use tax revenue, property tax revenue, and other sources generated by the city. Grant funds and special revenue funds will also be used toward overall beautification efforts and in some areas could be used for trash enclosures.

Applications will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, since not every business will need the same changes. 

“We realized that a lot of the businesses that we did a walk-through of that they can actually benefit from having a shared trash enclosure," said Ramirez.

The city is partnering with Burrtec along with other contractors, and will soon provide more details of the program to the city's website.

Businesses will have until December 24, 2024 to comply with the city ordinance.