The Eatonton City Council Monday night approved a $4 increase in the monthly garbage pickup fee. The residential rate will go from $11 per container to $15. Commercial rates will rise from $12 to $16.
Waste Management approached the city asking for a large increase in a new five-year contract that will start June 1.
“For five years we’ve had a very good deal,” said City Council member Mylle Mangum, who chairs the city’s Environmental committee. “It is inflation. It is gas prices. All of the things that one would expect.”
The new contract requires the city to pay Waste Management $10.04 for residential containers, an increase from $6.64. Mangum emphasized that the difference between what the city pays and what customers are charged is the same margin as the current rate, which doesn’t cover the cost of all the trash work by city employees. City Administrator
City Administrator Gary Sanders said Waste Management collects garbage from residential and commercial customers each week, but the city also does weekly pickups.
“What we do is the bulk items, bulk pickup and yard waste pickup,” Sanders said. “Our dump trucks go around, our tractors go around, our chippers go around doing all the yard waste.”
The city was able to negotiate a rate 11-cent lower than what Waste Management was proposing but efforts to require a decrease if gas prices go down or adjust fees on a month-to-month basis failed. The new fiveyear contract does allow an annual adjustment based on the Consumer Price Index cost for water, sewer and trash but that is limited to 5%.
“We have gone to all the surrounding counties, and we actually have a better rate,” Mangum said. “We are in better shape than others.”
Sanders said that although there have been service problems with Waste Management in the past, the company has “done a good job recently.”
The city has the right to terminate the contract with a 60-day notice and plans to continue considering other companies to do garbage collection, said Mangum.
After a 90-minute Executive Session, council members approved a new offer to the Putnam County Commission for a split of the revenue from the new Local Option Sales Tax (LOST).
The two bodies have been in negotiations for weeks. Under state law, revenue from a LOST must be split between the county and all cities in the county. The law does not dictate how the split should be determined.
Eatonton is Putnam County’s only city and accounts for 29 percent of the county’s population, according to City Council member Teresa Doster.
This latest offer would give the city 29 percent of the revenue for the first three years and drop to 25 percent for the remaining seven years.
The city’s share in the current 10-year agreement is about 31 percent of the approximately $4 million collected each year by the additional one percent LOST.
Meetings between the two groups have been closed to the public so it is unclear if Monday’s offer will be accepted by the Putnam County Commission.
Council heard an emotional explanation of the value of the Putnam County Honor Guard by Eatonton Police Sergeant James Gaither. The Honor Guard is on hand for services honoring deceased police, fire, military and other public protectors. Gaither held up pictures of recently deceased former Eatonton police officer Willie Brinkley and Rockdale County deputy Walter Jenkins during a moment of silence at Monday’s meeting.
Other City Council action included:
Approval of the retail package beer and wine license for Kashif Aslam who is the new owner of the food market and gas station at 207 E. Sumter Street.
Approval for a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Community Affairs for participation in the Georgia Classic Main Street Program.
Approval of a request for technical assistance from the Georgia Regional Commission on the pursuit of $250,000 grant for the City’s Center Stage.
Council member Janie Reid said that June is National Housing Month and there will be a Homeownership Seminar for interested citizens on Wednesday, June 15 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Hut.