City-Wide Residential Solid Waste Services

No. This only impacts residential curbside trash service. It does not impact commercial services or apartments.

Not unless the HOA chooses to do so. The current scope included in the Request for Proposals (RFP) indicates that HOAs, which currently contract for trash service, would have the option to continue uninterrupted contracts or choose the City’s contractor.

The current scope included in the Request for Proposals (RFP) places billing responsibilities with the company (i.e., trash hauler) rather than establishing a billing system by the City. The City would not bill residents for trash service or manage customer accounts.

No. The City does not plan to enact or collect a sales tax, property tax, user fee or pay the contractor for citywide services from the existing budget of the City. Customers would pay the hauler directly for services.

Basic service would include trash, recycling and yard waste collection. Basic service would occur weekly, year-round. Bulky item collection will occur quarterly and is included in the price for basic service.  Additional, on-demand, bulky item pick up(s) would be offered for an additional fee as needed.

Residential Solid Waste Collection has been an issue identified in multiple Citizen’s Strategic Plans for many years. The most recent City Strategic Plan, Ignite!, developed by community stakeholders and residents alike, adopted by the City Council, states “Evaluate solid waste management services” as an action step in support of the Ignite! Plan objective City staff and the City Council identified professional solid waste management as one of the top priorities for the City.

No; the City will not be collecting payments from residents. The City will not bill residents or manage resident trash service accounts. There is no proposed City fee to the contractor either. The contracted trash hauler will be responsible for resident account management and billing directly.

Residents in HOAs that do not contract, or residents outside of HOAs would be included in the City-wide contract.

There will not be another service provider option.

The City licenses about 10 different residential haulers who operate in the City on a weekly basis.  There is not a limit to the number of licensed haulers.

Professional customer service will also be regulated by the contract. Residents will contact the hauler directly if they miss a pick-up. If a contractor fails to collect within a reasonable amount of time as defined in the contract, they will be fined and/or terminated, depending upon the severity of the violations. The contract will also include bonding requirements, which allows the City to call upon the bonding company to replace a hauler who is in breach of contract.

If a contract is executed, changes would not start until mid-2027 at the earliest and no later than mid-2028, which would provide the City with time to educate residents and time for a contractor to prepare for service delivery.

Yes. The City worked towards a City-wide contract in 2011. However, the effort did not come to fruition.

Yes. Thousands of cities nationwide contract for trash services. In the metropolitan area over 50% of the cities surveyed in the eight-county surrounding area contract for solid waste services.

No. This contract has nothing to do with the services offered at Resource Recovery Park.

The proposed scope of services in the Request for Proposals has an initial contract term of five years with three two-year renewal options. This contract term has been identified through conversations with haulers and example contracts from other communities. The term should allow haulers enough time to make capital investments for the service and make payments on capital purchases.

Residents would initially call the hauling company to resolve any issues. If customer satisfaction is not obtained through the hauler, residents will call the City for resolution. Since the City would have a contract with the service provider with terms and conditions of performance and consequence, there would be mechanisms for the City to help address problems. The City currently does not have a residential curbside solid waste service contract with any hauler, so a resident’s only option at this time is to fire the hauler and find an alternative service provider.

The November election will be an opportunity for citizens to vote on the issue of residential curbside solid waste services as outlined in the ordinance. When exploring this topic and preparing a Request for Proposals to contract residential solid waste services, the City staff interviewed peer cities in the metro, interviewed current licensed residential haulers in the City, sent surveys to HOAs obtaining input and hosted public information sessions in each council district. Citizens have also been provided with the opportunity to comment through the City’s website or at public information sessions.

No. Apartment complexes are served by commercial haulers and will not be part of the residential program.

No commercial hauling for private businesses will be part of this contract.