Converse council adopts lower refuse rate increase, citing calculation discrepancy

The City of Converse City Council on March 4 approved a smaller annual increase to the city’s municipal solid waste rate after staff recalculated the percentage Waste Management requested.

Interim City Manager Lanny Lambert told the council he checked the company’s inflation inputs against U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and verified the vendor’s monthly numbers but found a different 12‑month average when he applied the contract’s timing. “When I ran it, I got 2.87%,” Lambert said, contrasting that with Waste Management’s submitted figure of about 3.24%.

The difference resulted from which consecutive 12 months were averaged under the contract. Lambert said the contractor’s letter was dated December and used the available preceding 12 months at that time; staff recalculated using a December–January window that incorporated full 2024 data and produced the lower percentage. Councilmember [name not specified] moved to adopt Lambert’s 2.87% figure; the motion was seconded and carried.

Mayor Suarez noted the per‑customer monthly difference—about eight cents per bill—would compound across the city’s population. Lambert recommended the city ensure future requests are presented on schedule so the correct 12‑month period is used under the contract.

The ordinance (first reading) amends Chapter 36, Article 2, rates and fees. The council approved the lower percentage under the contract formula; staff said the change will slightly reduce the vendor’s requested increase as billed to customers.

The council did not direct further action beyond adopting the staff calculation and emphasizing the need to process future rate letters on the contract schedule.