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Waste Management, La Marque council discuss contract billing, franchise fees and recurring complaints about bulk pickup
Summary
A Waste Management representative updated the council on contract changes that shifted commercial billing to WM and added a 10% franchise fee; council members pressed WM on persistent bulk pickup and storm debris procedures and asked for better resident education and web resources.
Waste Management representative Shanna Lopez briefed the La Marque City Council on contract changes and long‑running complaints about bulk pickup and post‑storm debris handling during the Aug. 5 budget workshop.
Lopez said the city shifted commercial billing to Waste Management Oct. 1, 2024, and that WM has since remitted roughly $9,500 monthly in franchise fees to the city. The contract also included a 5% (transcript: 10% — WM said 10%) franchise fee on commercial businesses, Lopez said, and WM will apply a 5% price increase Oct. 1 as part of a five‑year extension agreed last year.
The bulk‑pickup discussion dominated the council’s questions. Council members and WM staff agreed that bulk pickup problems are a recurring complaint — piles of yard waste and contractor debris that crews will not remove unless material meets the contractor’s size and bundling standards. Lopez said the main operational issue is safety and equipment: standard rear‑load collection crews are not equipped to pick up large trees or unsafe piles.
"It's the safety of our employees," Lopez said. She said crew members frequently face lifting hazards and snakes or unsecured loads; WM asked residents to bundle, cut branches and separate materials to match the 5‑cubic‑yard standard for free collection. Lopez offered to supply WM‑branded outreach material and create a La Marque page on WM’s site with local pickup rules.
Council members pushed for clearer, repeated resident messaging (postcards, refrigerator magnets with pictures and QR codes) and asked WM and staff to provide addresses where problems persist so the city can direct additional code enforcement or special collections. WM said some large storm debris collections are eligible for federal disaster reimbursement and require different contractors and documentation; the company and the city agreed to coordinate procedures and a rapid debris‑removal plan for hurricane season.
Lopez also said the contractor planned to continue supporting local events including BioFEST (the event remains on the calendar) and youth sports sponsorship, and confirmed a 5% pricing increase for Oct. 1. Council members asked WM to supply a tailored La Marque web page with bulk pickup instructions and to meet with staff about quarterly check‑ins.
Next steps: WM will work with city communications on a local web page and outreach materials; council asked staff to give WM a list of persistent problem addresses so the company can respond and the city can assign code follow‑up.
