On Wednesday, Bogalusa Mayor Wendy Perrette sought to clarify why the city has changed to residents paying an extra $13.30 for each additional trash can.

Perrette said that it’s a result of her looking for ways to save Bogalusa money.

“The trash was only $1 for an extra can from 1996 until 2007,” she said. “Then in 2007, the city started subsidizing them for 10 years. That’s cost us approximately $514,000. We caught this, and it’s a lot of money we’ve missed out on.

“That money could have been used on other things. It’s a double-edged sword. I’m sure there are more mistakes we have to find. But we have to correct them when we find them. That will help the city financially along the way.”

Director of Public Works James Hall said city law mandates that every business and residence in Bogalusa has one trash can. He said commercial and residential customers should stop by Bogalusa City Hall and sign a form if they want any additional cans, and they would be billed.

Clay Richardson, division manager for Waste Connections, the city’s trash collector, said the current “carts” would probably be picked up in early July. He said they would be replaced with cans that have bar codes that correspond to the legitimate address.

Hall said that way if a trashcan is stolen, the owner could go to the police for a resolution.