MONROE - Keeping trash collection services fully under the control of the city and its employees passed on a slim 5-4 vote Tuesday, July 17 at the City of Monroe common council meeting.
The council vote gave the city approval to implement a non-contracted, automated garbage collection service system using city personnel. It also authorized the city to obtain trucks and trash bins for the system using up to $950,000 from the city's general fund at an interest rate of 3 percent for a term not to exceed 10 years.
The funding approach, borrowing from itself, eliminates the need to borrow on bonds at a higher interest rate and repays the city from trash service fees at a rate higher than bank deposits are currently paying.
The narrow vote margin showed council members are still divided over the in-house approach; aldermen Brooke Bauman, Michael Boyce, Tyler Schultz and Louis Armstrong voted against the motion.
Some council members expressed the desire for the city to hire a private trash hauler, at least in the early years of switching to the automated process.
Bauman said she had concerns about making "a huge investment" in equipment and taking on "something that was completely new ... and now asking city employees to take that on as well.
"What if it doesn't work or justifies the cost?" she said.
Schultz, the council president, called the resolution to implement the in-house system "irresponsible."
Schultz said a private vendor, Pellitteri Waste Systems, had put in a "competitive bid" during a comparison check with city costs to do the services. Costs with a private company under contract would be stable, he said, while city figures in the comparison check are not "rock solid."
But proponents of using city equipment and employees said that employees were willing to learn the new system and contract prices would also likely go up in subsequent years.
"For a private company, the bottom line is profit," said alderman Reid Stangel. "The city is in it for the service, not profit."
Alderman Sara Conway said she spoke to the employees who picked up city trash and they reported they had no worries about the new system.
"They were willing to learn and wanted to do it and learn," she said. She also viewed in-house as offering the city "more control" over the service.
City Administrator Phil Rath said investing in the equipment is not eliminated by going with a private company. "We'd still be paying for the capital, we just don't own the capital," he said.
The Board of Public Works passed the recommendation to go with an "in-house" service by a narrow 3-2 vote on July 2, after an extended discussion with staff members, some trash collection vendors and the public.
Automated trash collection using specially equipped trucks and designed bins was approved by the Common Council June 19, on a vote of 8-1.
At a meeting of the Board of Public Works June 4, department heads recommended the city continue to collect its own residential trash rather than outsource the service. But, they said, it should move to an automated collection system to save money.
A city-owned trash collection system using garbage trucks equipped with mechanical arms that pick up and dump specialized trash and recycling containers could save the city at least $50,000 to $67,000 annually, when compared to proposals from four vendors, according to a cost analysis prepared by Rath and Street Department Supervisor Tom Boll.
The city's anticipated costs include the purchase of the new trucks and carts, as well as set-aside capital for replacement costs in the future.
The council vote gave the city approval to implement a non-contracted, automated garbage collection service system using city personnel. It also authorized the city to obtain trucks and trash bins for the system using up to $950,000 from the city's general fund at an interest rate of 3 percent for a term not to exceed 10 years.
The funding approach, borrowing from itself, eliminates the need to borrow on bonds at a higher interest rate and repays the city from trash service fees at a rate higher than bank deposits are currently paying.
The narrow vote margin showed council members are still divided over the in-house approach; aldermen Brooke Bauman, Michael Boyce, Tyler Schultz and Louis Armstrong voted against the motion.
Some council members expressed the desire for the city to hire a private trash hauler, at least in the early years of switching to the automated process.
Bauman said she had concerns about making "a huge investment" in equipment and taking on "something that was completely new ... and now asking city employees to take that on as well.
"What if it doesn't work or justifies the cost?" she said.
Schultz, the council president, called the resolution to implement the in-house system "irresponsible."
Schultz said a private vendor, Pellitteri Waste Systems, had put in a "competitive bid" during a comparison check with city costs to do the services. Costs with a private company under contract would be stable, he said, while city figures in the comparison check are not "rock solid."
But proponents of using city equipment and employees said that employees were willing to learn the new system and contract prices would also likely go up in subsequent years.
"For a private company, the bottom line is profit," said alderman Reid Stangel. "The city is in it for the service, not profit."
Alderman Sara Conway said she spoke to the employees who picked up city trash and they reported they had no worries about the new system.
"They were willing to learn and wanted to do it and learn," she said. She also viewed in-house as offering the city "more control" over the service.
City Administrator Phil Rath said investing in the equipment is not eliminated by going with a private company. "We'd still be paying for the capital, we just don't own the capital," he said.
The Board of Public Works passed the recommendation to go with an "in-house" service by a narrow 3-2 vote on July 2, after an extended discussion with staff members, some trash collection vendors and the public.
Automated trash collection using specially equipped trucks and designed bins was approved by the Common Council June 19, on a vote of 8-1.
At a meeting of the Board of Public Works June 4, department heads recommended the city continue to collect its own residential trash rather than outsource the service. But, they said, it should move to an automated collection system to save money.
A city-owned trash collection system using garbage trucks equipped with mechanical arms that pick up and dump specialized trash and recycling containers could save the city at least $50,000 to $67,000 annually, when compared to proposals from four vendors, according to a cost analysis prepared by Rath and Street Department Supervisor Tom Boll.
The city's anticipated costs include the purchase of the new trucks and carts, as well as set-aside capital for replacement costs in the future.