Peoria staff say in-house residential collection remains cheaper than vendor'proposal; council asks for RFP

City staff told the City Council on Tuesday that Peoria's in-house residential solid-waste program appears less costly than the single vendor response to a recent request for information, and council members asked staff to pursue a formal request for proposals.

Kevin Burke, deputy city manager, and Rhonda Humbles, public-works director, presented findings from a December request for information (RFI) about "managed competition" for residential collection. The RFI asked vendors how they would handle one full day's worth of collection (about 13,000 homes) for both trash and recycling.

City staff said it received a single substantial response, from a national hauler. Councilmember Dunn identified the respondent as Waste Management during the discussion. The vendor proposed splitting the area into multiple daily collection zones and estimated a per-household cost of $26.55 including landfill fees. By comparison, staff presented Peoria's full residential service cost as $22.59 per household (this figure includes bulk trash, household hazardous waste events, education and overhead). Stripping out some services produced a collection-only comparison of $10.22 per household; with landfill fees but excluding other features, staff estimated $14.22 per household.

Why this matters: staff said commercial collection in Peoria already competes with the private sector, but residential privatization is often hard to reverse because of high barriers to entry (truck fleets and CDL drivers). Rhonda Humbles noted contracts for disposal set minimum tonnage obligations; failing those minima could raise landfill fees.

Council response: Councilmember Dunn and others urged staff to follow the RFI with a formal request for proposals (RFP). Dunn said many vendors decline detailed participation in RFI processes for proprietary reasons and that an RFP would produce more complete, comparable bids ("You won't get that information unless you get proposals"). Councilmembers also asked about employee transition, whether private vendors would hire city crews, and the potential long-term effect of letting the city exit residential collection.

Direction and follow-up: staff said they would return with further analysis; council did not take immediate action but signaled support for pursuing more detailed proposals and analysis before deciding whether to pursue managed competition for residential routes.

Ending: staff emphasized the city currently provides additional community services (household hazardous waste collection, Peoria Recycles Day, outreach) that factor into total cost and service levels, and warned that a shift to private collection could change route days for residents and complicate disposal contracts.