Elgin OKs 5-year contract renewal with Waste Management after tense discussion
Elgin residents will pay $1.35 a month more for garbage hauling starting in 2020, with the additional amount covering curbside recycling of electronics.
Monthly rates will be $18.11, up from $16.76, under a five-year contract renewal with Waste Management that also includes a new discount for senior homeowners and optional organics/yard composting pickup.
There will be a 3.25% yearly increase starting in 2021.
The city council voted Wednesday on the new contract, capping a tense discussion during which some council members said city staff members should have done more to push for better terms from Waste Management. The senior discount came at the behest of Councilwoman Tish Powell.
Seniors who choose a 35-gallon refuse cart will get a discount of $1.68 per month. The discount will apply to an estimated 2,200 seniors with property tax freeze exemptions, but not renters. Seniors will have to go to city hall and provide proof to get the discount, Public Works Superintendent Aaron Neal said.
Council members Rose Martinez, Terry Gavin and Toby Shaw voted against, saying applying the senior discount will cost the city in administrative work. "We are being a penny wise and a pound foolish," Gavin said.
Mayor David Kaptain said he's received positive feedback about the new "e-waste" recycling program, which will include old TVs that now cost $20 to recycle at city events. That's especially good for seniors who have difficulty in transporting items, he said.
Councilman Corey Dixon and Powell voted against. "There are numerous options for people to get rid of electronics for free," Powell said.
People who want organics/yard composting weekly pickup from April to November will have three options: a 96-gallon container for $141 for the season, 64 gallons for $131 and 35 gallons for $121. The council unanimously approved that.
The city charges residents for refuse and recycling, but all the money goes to Waste Management, which was estimated to get $5.9 million from the city this year.
Council members first examined the proposed new contract at their June 12 meeting, and some complained they were not given enough time before the June 30 renewal deadline. "I want to make sure that with the next go-round this is brought to city council way in advance," Councilman Baldemar Lopez said Wednesday.
Dixon was especially critical, saying, "We should not be negotiating contracts from the dais. That's just really irresponsible to me."
City Manager Rick Kozal pushed back, saying "all objective information suggested that things were working well with Waste Management." He pointed to a scientific community survey in 2017 that showed that 73% of residents were satisfied or very satisfied with the quality of yard and trash services.
"We have not been in a position where we look to 'nickel and dime' our vendors in the middle of an agreement and use a renewal to try to get a better deal," Kozal said.
Council members also asked on June 12 for more resident feedback. An informal online survey yielded more than 1,000 responses and some comments were "pretty eye-opening," such as complaints about dropped garbage and the price of yard stickers, Powell said.