Council adopts ordinance aligning town code with new solid‑waste franchise agreement

The Town Council unanimously approved Ordinance 5-80 on first reading to update the town code on garbage collection to match a newly negotiated solid‑waste franchise agreement. Town Attorney Sweeney explained the ordinance revises chapter 54 to replace provisions reflecting direct billing with language recognizing franchise billing through a non ad valorem assessment.

Sweeney read the ordinance title into the record and council then took a roll-call vote. Councilman Carroll moved and the vice mayor seconded; Mayor Foley, Vice Mayor Atwater, Councilman Carroll and Council member Dane voted aye.

Council members later raised persistent billing and customer‑service problems with Republic Services, the franchise operator. Town Manager Harpring and staff said they have been working with the company to correct problems and that the town would consider an informational email to residents with Republic Services contact information to reduce the volume of calls to town staff.

Why this matters: the ordinance aligns local code to the operational franchise and the non ad valorem billing mechanism, and staff continue to handle implementation issues with the contractor that affect residents' bills.