DAPHNE, Ala. — According to Daphne Public Works Director Richard Johnson Monday, if the city wishes to move the recycling program into the next fiscal year, changes must be made.

Johnson and the Daphne City Council debated the recycling program and what equipment needs should be budgeted for the next fiscal year.

Johnson said the city has four options to move into the next year: stay with the current single-stream system with automated trucks; get smaller trucks for recycling; sort recyclables and maximize the income, which would increase employee costs for the city; or use inmate labor to sort the recyclables at around $20 a day per person.

Johnson said the current program is not a financially sound option for the city, and he recommends getting smaller trucks.

“If we stayed with the current system, we would need two new trucks,” he said. “The cost of staying with current equipment outweighs the cost of new equipment.”

Mayor Fred Small proposed increasing the charge of recycling for residents.

“We’re taking about a service that we offer for $13.90 a month that is constantly in the red,” Small said. “Five dollars a month more is not outrageous, and it would put recycling in the black, I think.”

The city in 2006 recycled between 2,100 and 2,500 tons; collections have since dropped to between 1,600 and 1,800 tons, Tracey Miller, the city’s solid-waste coordinator, has said. The city offers weekly curbside garbage and recycling pickup for $13.90 a month.

Councilman Derek Boulware said the city should consider an option that would cut costs of the program without increasing the charge for residents.

Councilwoman Cathy Barnette contended the program is not catching on with residents because the council continually discusses its future year after year.

“It’s a city service,” Barnette said. “Why we debate it annually, I don’t know.”