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Bel Air discusses condominium trash contract, considers buying collection trucks
Summary
Town commissioners and staff reviewed FY26 refuse costs tied to a Casella contract for condominium dumpsters, including rising tipping fees, and discussed a multi-year plan to evaluate buying town-owned trucks and dumpsters to reduce long‑term costs.
Bel Air commissioners and public works staff discussed rising condominium trash costs at the May 7, 2025, budget work session and directed staff to develop a plan to evaluate bringing collection in‑house.
The conversation focused on the town’s contract with Casella to service condominium dumpsters and the county tipping fee paid to Harford County. Public Works Director Steve said the town pays Casella roughly $116,000 a year to provide dumpsters and service, and the town covers an estimated $133,380 a year in Harford County tipping fees for about 1,140 tons of condominium trash. “So it’s probably going to be a million‑dollar investment if the town were ever to do it on their own,” he said, while also noting annual costs paid now approach $240,000–$250,000.
Why it matters: commissioners and staff said that, with potential large increases from Casella and long lead times to buy specialized trucks, planning now could save money later. Steve and other staff outlined a roughly two‑year timeline to phase in town collection that would include buying one used and one new front‑end loader truck initially, purchasing dumpsters, and adjusting staffing. Commissioner Rutledge and others pushed for a feasibility study and for staff to prepare a procurement and funding plan, with capital reserves likely to be the funding source for any vehicle purchases.
Supporting details: staff noted several constraints. Harford County’s contract with Casella is a multi‑year agreement (three years with a two‑year renewal option) and the town currently piggybacks on that contract; the consultant/contract terms make immediate transition complex. Steve said truck lead times can be about a year, and the cost of two trucks and dumpsters could approach $1 million. Town staff said buying trucks and dumpsters would require short‑term overlap costs (double costs) during transition and careful procurement to avoid service gaps for condominium residents.
Staff direction and next steps: commissioners asked staff to prepare a formal plan and timeline, including capital‑reserve funding options, a phased purchase schedule (new + used truck), and an implementation plan, and to return with numbers and recommended procurement strategy at a future work session. Staff also said they will continue negotiations and coordination with Casella and Harford County and examine the legal/contractual details, including any escape clauses.
Context: Town staff and commissioners said the town currently spends roughly $1,015,649 on curbside collection overall in FY26, with $249,411 of that covering the condominium contract. The tipping fee portion of that contract is the largest single driver of the condo line item’s cost.
Ending: Commissioners agreed the topic merits a detailed staff study and asked for a two‑year implementation timeline and cost breakdown to be returned in a future meeting so the board can decide whether and when to shift to town-run condominium collection.
