NORMAL - Residents will be paying more for their garbage pickup beginning April 1. The Normal City Council on Monday approved a $2.50-per-month increase in the monthly fee, taking it from the current $5 to $7.50.

It will go up to $10 a month on April 1, 2011, the same time the town plans to provide each household with a garbage tote for a fully automated system.

Councilman Chuck Scott noted the increases still will not cover the town's entire cost of picking up trash, brush, bulky waste, landscape waste and leaves.

The first increase will cover 43 percent of the costs and the second will cover 50 percent, Scott said.

The rate increase will take Normal's fee to 50 cents higher than Bloomington's. Bloomington recently approved a $2-per-month increase in its fee, taking the monthly fee from $5 to $7.

Normal residents also will see a 10-percent increase in water rates on April 1. The rate will go from the current $3.60 per 1,000 gallons to $3.96 per 1,000 gallons.

The last increase was in 2006. In 1990, the council agreed to raise water rates by 10 percent every three years.

Several other fee increases also were approved, including those connected to the inspections department, swimming pool pass fees, Children's Discovery Museum passes, Normal Theater admission, golf course fees, the town's preschool program, and meter installation.

A full list of the fee changes is included in the City Council packet that is available on the town's Web site at www.normal.org.