Lockport approves five-year Waste Management contract; council clarifies senior discount and animal pickup

The Lockport City Council approved Resolution 25-083 to enter a five-year contract with Waste Management following a sealed-bid process, city staff said.

City staff said the contract keeps current curbside recycling, hazardous-waste and bulk pickups, holds resident rates steady for 2026 and applies an approximately 15% reduction for qualifying senior households in the first year.

Ben, a city staff member who presented the item, told the council the city received four bids — from Waste Management (the incumbent), LRS, Homewood and Republic — and that Waste Management was the lowest bidder. "We are able to hold the price for the first year and lower the price for the seniors in the first year," Ben said. He also said the contract gives the city an option to extend for an additional five years after the first five-year term.

Under the contract the city will continue to handle resident billing through the municipal water bill, while service calls and operational issues will be handled directly by Waste Management, Ben said. Cart rental fees were noted in the packet as $2 per cart.

Council members pressed the vendor on two service details. One alderperson asked to lower the annual price escalator; the vendor representative said market forces and operating-cost changes informed the proposed increase. Ella, the Waste Management representative, said competition in the region and rising costs led to the vendor proposing a higher escalator than the city had historically experienced. "We kept you guys at 5% just to sort of get you back from being so low for so many years to try and balance things out," Ella said.

Council member Christina asked how the company would handle removal of dead animals. Ella said that dead-animal pickup was a newly offered service for the contract and described the typical process: residents or city staff report animals on public streets, and Waste Management dispatches crews to remove them. She said the company would generally not collect animals from private yards unless notified and that staff will determine handling based on safety and the type/size of the animal. Ella noted the company would coordinate with the city operations team on any special identification or notification procedures.

City staff asked the council to approve an appropriation so the mayor and staff could finalize and sign the five-year agreement. The council approved Resolution 25-083 by roll-call vote; the individual vote tallies were not read into the record during the discussion on file.

Next steps: staff will finalize contract language and execute the agreement with Waste Management; the contract includes an option to extend for an additional five years, and the city will publish customer instructions about senior discount qualification and the process for reporting service issues and dead-animal pickups.