Bandera staff briefs council on garbage-rate increases; council questions markups and sludge costs

City staff presented an update on the city's utility and garbage rates and answered council questions about trends, contracted increases and line-item costs, including sludge removal from the wastewater plant. Lede: Allison, the city's interim city administrator, told the council the contracted trash-rate increases since 2020 include no increase in 2021, a 3.45% increase in 2022 and 5% increases in subsequent years, and she provided a fact sheet showing projected solid-waste revenue of $700,021 and projected expenses of $610,000. Nut graf: Councilors focused on whether the contractor's increases and the city's internal administrative treatment of solid-waste costs justified the proposed rate moves. The presentation highlighted a recurring cost for weekly sludge removal from the wastewater plant of $1,064 per week, about $55,000 per year, and noted wastewater-related solid-waste expenses of roughly $90,000 are recorded in the utility fund. Key points: Staff said the city pays for six park containers, multiple toters at City Hall and other municipal collection points, and that Republic Services is the contractor. Allison said Republic's representative told her it is normal for cities to include an administrative fee in their utility accounting. Some council members sought comparisons to neighboring municipalities; staff reported the City of Hondo retains 5% and charges a 12% administrative markup under its contract but cautioned larger municipalities are not direct analogs. Councilors asked about an every-other-week pickup option for residents struggling with bills; staff said it had not yet implemented a frequency change, and that route labor makes frequency changes unlikely to substantially reduce costs. Dissent and tone: One council member called some of the public criticism a "political witch hunt" and defended staff's accounting; others pressed for more analysis and follow-up. Outcome and next steps: The item was an informational update; no rate change was adopted during the meeting. Staff said they would continue to work with Republic Services, produce additional cost detail on requests from council members and follow up on resident assistance options.