Lake Wales officials propose 90-day trial to restore weekly bulk and yard waste pickup after contract clerical error

An ordinance to correct language in the city's solid-waste contract will return to the City Commission after staff said a clerical error left bulk and yard waste on an every-other-week pickup schedule rather than weekly. The city's finance director said Republic Services offered a short trial period and a monthly surcharge residents could accept to restore weekly service.

The correction matters because the contract language the city adopted did not match what staff said was negotiated. Dorothy Abbott, the city's director of finance, told the commission she intended the contract to reflect the negotiated schedule and missed language that changed bulk and yard waste collections to every other week. She said Republic Services had continued weekly pickups after a hurricane but began following the written contract in January, prompting customer calls.

Abbott said Republic Services had provided a price to restore weekly bulk and yard-waste pickup at an additional $2.07 per month per residential account, which she said would appear as a monthly line item on utility bills. Mary Boyer, general manager for Republic Services, said the city's discounted rate of $25.51 per month reflected once-a-week trash and recycling and every-other-week bulk and yard waste; keeping all services weekly would raise the rate to about $27.58 per month. Boyer told commissioners the company could run a 90-day trial to measure volume, customer reaction and calls to city hall.

Commissioners raised questions about notice and cost. Abbott said the $2.07 monthly surcharge equates to roughly $4 per year per account and that staff would work with Republic Services and city staff (including Sarah Kirkland in public works) to notify residents if the commission approves a change. Commissioner comments ranged from frustration with the clerical error to support for a trial and clear public communication.

Abbott told commissioners she would work with the city attorney and Republic Services to place an amended ordinance on a future agenda and return to the commission after the trial period to finalize the contract language. No formal vote on the correction was recorded in the transcript of the meeting.

The city's discussion centered on giving residents notice, tracking the operational impacts of changing collection cadence and ensuring the written ordinance matches the service intended by staff and the contractor.