The August utility bill was the first one Germantown homeowners got with the new sanitation rate on it. Standard weekly curbside service now costs $51.85 a month, and weekly backdoor collection costs $74.70. Both rates took effect July 1, 2026, under a new five-year solid waste contract. Before July, the rate was $32.45.
If you're comparing Germantown with Collierville, you've probably already looked at the city property tax rates and picked the town with the lower number. That's a reasonable start, but it leaves out what each town now bills through the utility account. In the FY27 budgets, both towns held their tax rates flat and raised fees. Once you count those fees, the yearly cost gap between the two is about twice what the tax rates alone suggest.
Why the tax rate looks steady
Germantown's FY27 budget sets the city property tax at $1.7825 per $100 of assessed value and describes it as no increase. That figure is the state-calculated "certified recapture rate" for tax year 2026. The prior year's certified rate of $1.79 included an allowance for reappraisal appeals, and Tennessee law requires the city to recapture whatever part of that allowance isn't used.
Collierville did the same with its own rate. When its Board of Mayor and Aldermen adopted the FY27 budget on June 8, 2026, the town said the property tax rate would stay at $1.62 per $100 of assessed value. The same announcement listed fee changes, all effective July 1, 2026:
- A new street infrastructure maintenance fee of $5 a month, all of it set aside for local street paving
- A sanitation fee increase from $27 to $32 a month
- Water and sewer increases worth about $1.56 a month for an average customer, as part of a rate plan started four years earlier
Collierville's announcement says these targeted adjustments let the town fund core operations without raising property taxes. So "the tax rate didn't go up" was true in both towns this year, and it still didn't mean the cost of owning stayed the same.
How Germantown's trash rate jumped 60%
The two towns' fees grew by such different amounts because they collect trash in different ways.
Germantown contracts the work out. Its previous contract dated to 2016, and the rate stayed flat for more than ten years while the industry's labor, fuel and disposal costs rose. The city puts its adjustment at about 60%. When it put the new contract out for bids, it got a single proposal. The city's FAQ says a public solicitation can't force companies to bid, and that the market has only a few firms that can handle large-scale residential collection. The city also studied doing the work itself. It concluded that buying a fleet, building facilities and hiring staff would cost more over time than contracting.
The Daily Memphian identified the contractor as Waste Pro. It put the increase in the 60% to 80% range and wrote that it was "significant enough to draw some grousing about the cost."
Collierville runs its sanitation division in-house. In its April 2026 rate proposal, the town tied its $5 increase to a seven-year equipment rotation, noting that a new automated garbage truck costs about $430,000. Because Collierville owns its trucks, its costs go up a little every year. Germantown's costs come due all at once each time a contract expires. This year one of those resets landed in Germantown.
The new Germantown rate does come with a lot of service. It includes weekly yard waste collection up to 10 cubic yards and weekly bulk item pickup up to five cubic yards. Trash and recycling now have to go in city-issued carts. A household can add up to two extra trash carts and two extra recycling carts for $7.75 a month each, plus a one-time $75 delivery fee per cart.
The math on one $450,000 house
Here is the same $450,000 home placed in each town. Tennessee assesses residential property at 25% of appraised value, according to the Tennessee Comptroller, so the assessed value is $112,500. Both towns are in Shelby County and pay the same county rate, so the county tax cancels out of the comparison. What's left is the city tax and the city fees.
| Yearly cost on a $450,000 home | Germantown | Collierville | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| City property tax | $2,005 at $1.7825 | $1,823 at $1.62 | $183 |
| Sanitation fee | $622 at $51.85/mo | $384 at $32/mo | $238 |
| Street infrastructure fee | none | $60 at $5/mo | -$60 |
| Total of these lines | $2,627 | $2,267 | $361 |
The tax-rate difference comes to about $183 a year. The fee lines add about $178 more, so the total gap is roughly $361. The fees widen the gap about as much as the tax rate does. Germantown's backdoor collection at $74.70 a month would add another $274 a year to that column.
The table has limits. It leaves out water and sewer bills, which depend on how much a household uses. It also leaves out stormwater fees, and the rates for these two towns aren't part of this comparison. Treat it as a way to set up your own math. It isn't a full budget.
The tax gap and the fee gap behave differently
The tax-rate gap grows with the price of the house. On a more expensive Germantown home, the $183 grows in proportion. On a less expensive one, it shrinks.
The fee gap stays the same at any price. A $300,000 house and a $700,000 house in Germantown pay the same $51.85 a month for curbside service. That makes the fee a larger share of the total on lower-priced homes. If you're a first-time buyer looking at the entry end of Germantown's market, the trash line is a bigger part of your recurring city costs than it is for someone buying at the top of the range.
The timing differs too. Germantown's contract runs five years, so the $51.85 rate is the known figure for that period. Collierville's fees are set in each annual budget. Collierville's own April comparison projected that without the increase, its sanitation fund would run out by FY31. Both towns are dealing with the same higher costs. Germantown's increase came all at once in a contract, and Collierville's comes a little at a time in its budget.
Running this on a house you're considering
- Start with the city tax. Multiply the appraised value by 25%, divide by 100, and multiply by the city rate. Germantown says home values come from the Shelby County Assessor, and the certified tax roll goes to the city each October.
- Add each town's monthly city fees, multiplied by 12. In Germantown, decide between curbside and backdoor collection, and count any extra carts.
- Ask the seller for a recent utility bill. A bill dated after July 2026 shows the new fees, which an older bill won't.
- Compare the total with the difference in purchase price. On some houses, $361 a year changes the answer and on others it doesn't, so it's worth knowing which kind you're looking at before you make an offer.
FAQ
Did Germantown raise its property tax rate for FY27? No. The FY27 budget describes $1.7825 per $100 of assessed value as no increase. It's the certified recapture rate calculated after the 2025 reappraisal.
Who collects trash in Germantown now? Waste Pro, according to The Daily Memphian. The city's solid waste FAQ says the new contract runs five years and took effect July 1.
Does Collierville's new $5 fee replace a tax increase? The town says its targeted fee adjustments fund core operations without raising property taxes, and that all of the street fee goes to paving.
This post is general information, not tax or financial advice. Check your own figures with the county, the city, or a tax professional before you rely on them.
If you're deciding between a house in Germantown and one in Collierville and want the full yearly cost laid out side by side, including fees and taxes, Christopher Farm can help you run the numbers on the specific homes you're considering. Let's Connect.
