Garbage outsourcing referendum will be on Rolling Meadows ballot
Rolling Meadows residents will vote on whether they think the city should privatize garbage collection in a November referendum, the city council decided Tuesday.
Rolling Meadows is one of the few suburbs that still collects its own refuse, a service residents have said they support as the city discussed the savings of outsourcing over the past six months.
Aldermen decided to go for a nonbinding referendum on the issue by a 4-3 straw vote during Tuesday’s committee of the whole meeting. The issue will be formally approved by a resolution at next week’s meeting.
“This is something that will literally affect every household in the city on a weekly basis. By any reasonable standard, this issue is big enough to be a referendum,” Mayor Tom Rooney said. “We’re the council, and we work for the citizens, and they’re asking that they be given the choice.”
Rooney said the question’s wording is subject to change but might be: “Shall the city of Rolling Meadows contract with a privately owned company to provide refuse collection within the city?”
Other members of the council disagreed with the referendum idea and said the council will have to decide many large issues, such as the expansion of Meacham Road or possible relocation of the city’s fire stations.
Aldermen Mike Cannon, Brad Judd and Robert Banger voted against the referendum.
“I view the duties of an alderman as making these tough decisions,” Banger said.
He said he didn’t like the idea of researching the issue so much to then have the decision taken out of their hands.
“The referendum to me is just kind of offensive,” he said.
Banger added that he was concerned about the vendors, primarily the top two contenders, Veolia and Groot, who have had to sit by while the process drags on even longer.
Aldermen on both sides of the issue said they were concerned with the amount of misinformation they’ve heard from residents about what outsourcing would mean.
“There will no loss of jobs, none. We’ve been assured that by staff,” said Alderman John D’Astice.
“We reviewed proposals and made sure that the services being offered matched exactly to what we have today, by contract,” he said.
Alderman Jim Larsen added that while some residents have said they don’t mind paying a few extra dollars a month for their garbage collection — there is a difference of about $5 a month between the private companies’ proposals and what the city charges — the savings to the city are actually much greater because of selling off city trucks and equipment.
“Whatever costs we forgo by not making this change, that money will have to come from somewhere,” he said.
Residents have also spoken up at previous meetings about how beloved their garbage collectors are, but aldermen said that is not the issue.
“This is not some kind of personal attack on public works employees,” Larsen said. “It’s business.”