MONROE - Members of the Monroe Common Council briefly discussed options for garbage and recycling services Tuesday at the westside fire station, planning to solicit more proposals after the council's March 6 meeting.
Talks of personnel, budgeting and committees ran longer than anticipated, prompting Mayor Louis Armstrong to end the meeting just more than an hour after it began. Emergency services training at the station conflicted with the scheduled meeting.
However, City Administrator Phil Rath briefly highlighted past usage of garbage services by the city, which currently hauls its trash directly to the landfill in Janesville. The setup began in 2016 after negotiations over a contract with the Green County Transfer Station, which collects recycling and garbage materials to be taken to the landfill at a later date, ended without a resolution.
The city has also examined the idea of utilizing Advanced Disposal within city limits over the winter months, rather than using its own equipment to drive to the landfill during harsher weather.
Outlining numbers from a memo provided by Director of Public Works Al Gerber, Rath explained that taking the waste directly to Janesville in 2017 at a cost of $36 per ton charged by the landfill, the city was projected to spend a total of roughly $89 per ton with the inclusion of labor, equipment and vehicle replacement costs.
As a non-member, or non-contracted, user of the Green County Transfer Station, the city would pay just under $98 per ton total. Alderman Tom Miller said numbers from the transfer station needed to be re-examined by the city.
In September, members of the Green County Solid Waste Management Board approved an overhaul of contracts with the facility. Annual contracts charge members a rate of $40 per ton. Board Chair Richard Vogel said the process was to help municipalities budget better by sending out statements outlining additional fees in September. The fees, if needed, would make up for a deficit, Vogel said. If the facility encountered a surplus, there was also an option put in place to refund members or save the funds for future use to avoid future fees.
The billing method had been an issue for the city. Rath had recommended Monroe cancel its contract with the transfer station because fluctuating fee costs made budgeting difficult. In reference to the transfer station Tuesday, he mentioned the "subsidized" tipping fees averaged about $32 per ton in 2014. Tipping fees are the cost per ton for garbage disposal. The routing of city trash directly to Janesville began as a test program in late 2015 and has remained in place.
The city has also taken initial steps to secure an estimate from Advanced Disposal, which has a facility in the 100 block of West 7th Street. Within the last year, Rath said the city received an estimate of $55 per ton for a total estimated cost of $77 per ton.
Review of outsourcing the service once again was prompted by talks of the cost of equipment. Gerber specified two trucks with carts for garbage and recycling collection were purchased for $950,000. The trucks have a life cycle of five years and were purchased in July 2013. The department would need to budget $120,000 annually for equipment replacement and $3,000 per year for cart replacement. If the city were to use the transfer station or Advanced Disposal, the trucks could last for eight years, Rath said.
Rath said a draft of a request for proposals could be ready for the March 6 council meeting and any other discussion of the issue will be continued at a future meeting.
Talks of personnel, budgeting and committees ran longer than anticipated, prompting Mayor Louis Armstrong to end the meeting just more than an hour after it began. Emergency services training at the station conflicted with the scheduled meeting.
However, City Administrator Phil Rath briefly highlighted past usage of garbage services by the city, which currently hauls its trash directly to the landfill in Janesville. The setup began in 2016 after negotiations over a contract with the Green County Transfer Station, which collects recycling and garbage materials to be taken to the landfill at a later date, ended without a resolution.
The city has also examined the idea of utilizing Advanced Disposal within city limits over the winter months, rather than using its own equipment to drive to the landfill during harsher weather.
Outlining numbers from a memo provided by Director of Public Works Al Gerber, Rath explained that taking the waste directly to Janesville in 2017 at a cost of $36 per ton charged by the landfill, the city was projected to spend a total of roughly $89 per ton with the inclusion of labor, equipment and vehicle replacement costs.
As a non-member, or non-contracted, user of the Green County Transfer Station, the city would pay just under $98 per ton total. Alderman Tom Miller said numbers from the transfer station needed to be re-examined by the city.
In September, members of the Green County Solid Waste Management Board approved an overhaul of contracts with the facility. Annual contracts charge members a rate of $40 per ton. Board Chair Richard Vogel said the process was to help municipalities budget better by sending out statements outlining additional fees in September. The fees, if needed, would make up for a deficit, Vogel said. If the facility encountered a surplus, there was also an option put in place to refund members or save the funds for future use to avoid future fees.
The billing method had been an issue for the city. Rath had recommended Monroe cancel its contract with the transfer station because fluctuating fee costs made budgeting difficult. In reference to the transfer station Tuesday, he mentioned the "subsidized" tipping fees averaged about $32 per ton in 2014. Tipping fees are the cost per ton for garbage disposal. The routing of city trash directly to Janesville began as a test program in late 2015 and has remained in place.
The city has also taken initial steps to secure an estimate from Advanced Disposal, which has a facility in the 100 block of West 7th Street. Within the last year, Rath said the city received an estimate of $55 per ton for a total estimated cost of $77 per ton.
Review of outsourcing the service once again was prompted by talks of the cost of equipment. Gerber specified two trucks with carts for garbage and recycling collection were purchased for $950,000. The trucks have a life cycle of five years and were purchased in July 2013. The department would need to budget $120,000 annually for equipment replacement and $3,000 per year for cart replacement. If the city were to use the transfer station or Advanced Disposal, the trucks could last for eight years, Rath said.
Rath said a draft of a request for proposals could be ready for the March 6 council meeting and any other discussion of the issue will be continued at a future meeting.