Mount Prospect negotiating cheaper contract with current waste company

Mount Prospect is looking to extend its solid waste agreement with Republic Services that is scheduled to expire at the end of the year - at a lower cost.

The village has two separate contracts with Republic, one for residential refuse and another for commercial. The original agreement was set to terminate at the end of 2015, but in 2012 was extended two years when Republic Services voluntarily annexed into the village.

On Tuesday, the board indicated staff members should proceed with negotiations, although one trustee, John Matuszak, said he would rather see the village go out for bid.

Republic's headquarters and main transfer station are located in Mount Prospect, which Public Works Director Sean Dorsey said would provide Republic with an incentive to retain the contract.

"There were some big changes in the market," he said. "Republic had lost a few long-term customers."

The executive director of the Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County, David Van Vooren, suggested the market was right for the renegotiation, Dorsey said.

Under the current contract, the village serves 13,595 single-family residential units and 8,351 multifamily residential units. In addition, it serves 691 commercial properties.

Dorsey said a new contract could result in a 16 percent reduction in combined refuse and recycling rates for single-family properties.

Trustees liked the proposal.

"I certainly like favoring our local businesses, but to the extent that it is economical, and this one is," Trustee Paul Hoefert said,

But Matuszak said he is "a big believer in competition contracting."

"So I would be more inclined to bring it out for bid and negotiate with two or three," he said.