The plan approved Tuesday has new and existing customers paying the same rate for service - $195 a year, or $16.25 a month - on their property tax bills. New customers will see the charge on their property tax bills, and existing customers in the city's urban district will continue to pay for the service as part of their urban taxes.

The collection plan was approved by a 7-2 vote, with Commissioners Ulmer Bridges and Andy Cheek voting no and Commissioner Willie Mays absent.

Debate over garbage service had delayed an approved plan for months. That debate continued at Tuesday's meeting.

``In my mind, we are giving citizens the services they were promised when we consolidated, and garbage pickup is one of them,'' Commissioner Marion Williams said.

But other commissioners had concerns that City Administrator George Kolb's plan to charge a flat rate for service subsidizes some areas at the expense of others. Several commissioners also disapproved of the flat rate of $195 per year because it exceeds the $175 they originally said trash service would cost.

``I quoted somebody a price, and here I'm seeing a $20 increase,'' Mr. Bridges said. ``I have a problem with that.''

The varied-rate collection plan that he supported would have had customers paying between $14.50 and $17.13 per month, depending on where they lived.

But that billing plan would have created a $721,000 shortfall, finance employees said. Charges from earlier plans would not have covered the cost of using city reserves to fund the service upfront, including administrative costs of the city borrowing money from itself and the expense of customers who don't pay their bills.

Commissioners in favor of the flat-rate plan said $20 more a year - or $1.66 more per month - was too little to quibble over.

``We're talking about less than $2 a month (difference),'' Commissioner Lee Beard said. ``This has taken too much time ... to say we can't do it.''

The approved plan has a target start-up date of Aug. 1. By providing a single ``solid waste collection district'' for all new customers, Mr. Kolb said, it should be easier for the city to add new garbage customers in the future.

About 50 people showed up at the meeting to support city-run garbage collection, including Bill Holmes, a 78-year-old Apple Valley resident. Mr. Holmes will be among the nearly 23,000 new customers to get the extended service.

The flat rate is $1.42 more than the city would have charged Mr. Holmes had they voted for the varied-rate plan, and the city service will cost 25 cents more per month compared with what he now pays a private hauler.

But he said the increased charge is worth it because the city's plan provides services he does not currently receive, including recycling, yard refuse pickup and collection of bulky items, such as refrigerators and stoves.

``There is a feeling with certain groups of people that if they moved out to the county they didn't have to pay taxes,'' Mr. Holmes said. ``My biggest thing is we voted for consolidation. That means that everybody from every end of the county is in the same boat.''

In other action

Commissioners delayed discussions concerning a joint library and recreation center at Diamond Lakes Regional Park. Opposition from several south Augusta neighborhood groups has prompted city officials to do more research on the cost savings of a joint facility.

Commissioners approved 6-3 a recommendation from City Administrator George Kolb to employ an executive search company to find a finance director. The city-run search for a director will close May 31 and has cost $1,981.81. Bennett & Associates, the company that brought Mr. Kolb to Augusta, will be paid $25,000 plus travel expenses to do the search. Commissioners Jerry Brigham, Bill Kuhlke and Steve Shepard voted no on the measure.

Reach Heidi Coryell at (706) 823-3215.