Kingman council keeps twice‑weekly trash pickup; approves county‑open drop‑off recycling with per‑drop fee

Kingman will keep twice‑weekly residential garbage pickup and pursue a staffed drop‑off recycling program open to county residents, the City Council decided March 18, voting to publish a notice of intent and set a May public hearing.

Why it matters: Solid‑waste finances showed the city’s solid‑waste fund trending toward negative cash reserves by fiscal 2028 unless rates or services change. Staff presented alternatives and the results of a customer survey that collected about 2,400 responses from city solid‑waste customers.

What the council decided: Staff recommended a 6.5% rate increase for residential service effective July 2025 and presented two service options: retain twice‑weekly pickup (staff recommendation) or move to once‑weekly pickup (lower rate). The customer survey showed about 66% preferred keeping twice‑weekly pickup.

Recycling plan and fee: Public Works Director Rob Owen presented the results of a January RFP and a cost estimate for a staffed drop‑off program in which the city would bale recyclables at Public Works and a contractor would transport material for processing. Owen said the net annual program cost was about $265,000. Applied across all city customers, that would be about $1.57 per month; a per‑drop fee for participating users would be about $6.55 if both city and county residents could use the site.

Multiple council members and staff recommended adding a small cushion for market fluctuation. City Manager Marcus Walsh recommended adding $1–$1.50 to the per‑drop fee “to give staff a little bit of wiggle room.” Council Member Dikens moved to advance the notice of intent and schedule the public hearing with the following parameters: retain twice‑weekly residential pickup, implement the staffed drop‑off recycling program open to county residents with a per‑drop fee set at $7.53, and exclude a citywide green‑waste billing program. The motion was seconded and passed on a voice vote.

Public comment: During the council’s call to the public, former water‑conservation consultant Wayne Hollins urged the council to pair green‑waste chipping with public education so chips are used to improve soil and reduce runoff. Joanne Marquez, who said she did not receive the mailed survey, urged the council to consider freezing fees and examine access to drop‑off options; staff later clarified the paper survey was mailed to about 13,000 city solid‑waste customers and that online options were also available.

Staff cautions: Owen said recycling markets are volatile and the city would need operational flexibility to stop accepting commodities if processing markets collapse. He also said the recommended staffed drop‑off model reduced the contamination problems the city experienced when remote unstaffed bins were used.

Next steps: Council directed staff to publish a notice of intent to modify solid‑waste services and rates and to schedule a public hearing for May 20. Any rate change would be considered at that hearing and, if approved, effective July 1.

Ending: The matter returns to the council after the May public hearing for final rate decisions.