Lansing City Council approves three-year Waste Management contract extension after debate over notices and rates

The Lansing City Council approved a three-year extension of the city's contract with Waste Management on a voice roll call after discussion about a late service notice and proposed rate increases.

Councilmembers voted to extend the contract through Feb. 28, 2028, with annual reviews and the possibility of annual escalators depending on contract terms. The extension passed by unanimous roll call with all councilmembers voting yes.

The contract item drew the most discussion of the evening after several councilmembers described confusion among residents when Waste Management notified the city after hours that collection would occur a day earlier than the city's announced weather delay. Councilmember Blessing asked for an explanation, saying: "I'd like an explanation as to what happened when we were told that the trash would be picked up tomorrow. Then the city received an email after hours that the pickup was gonna occur today." A Waste Management representative acknowledged the company changed its plan late and apologized to the city staff: "Their intent was to return the city of Lansing to normal and not have a delay... I apologize profusely to your staff."

Company staff explained that operational decisions during extreme weather are made by their operations team to prioritize municipal contracts and that an intended early pickup was reversed once company leadership and city staff communicated. The company representative said the change was made "yesterday afternoon" and that he became aware of it around 5:30 p.m.; the reversal to a one-day delay was completed the following morning.

Councilmembers also pressed Waste Management on digital notifications. Several said residents received conflicting alerts from the company's app; one councilmember read an app alert aloud that said a Wednesday cycle had been rescheduled to Tuesday. The company acknowledged the municipal-account configuration in its app is problematic and said staff would work with city staff (Ken and Beth were named as city contacts during discussion) to correct municipal account information and to test the alerts.

On rates and contract length, staff said the city's current average resident cost including administrative fees is $18.27 per month and that Waste Management proposed roughly $21.65 per month under the extension; the transcript included an example increase of about $3.38 per month. Councilmembers discussed trade-offs between a multi‑year agreement, which can lock in increases and provide rate certainty, and one‑year terms that allow more frequent renegotiation. The company noted recent increases have often been tied to CPI and that longer-term contracts typically include preagreed annual escalators.

Councilmembers asked whether a senior discount would continue; city staff confirmed an internal policy provides qualifying residents (age 65 and over with government ID) a $2 per month reduction. The company said senior-rate administration is handled by the city, not Waste Management.

Votes at a glance - Motion: Approve three-year contract extension with Waste Management (extension through 02/28/2028; automatic one-year renewals unless notice given). Outcome: Approved (unanimous yes on roll call). - Motion: Approve minutes of the Feb. 6, 2025 regular meeting. Outcome: Approved (unanimous yes on roll call).

What the council directed and next steps City staff and Waste Management agreed to follow up on app notifications and municipal-account settings to prevent future miscommunications. The contract will be reviewed annually per its renewal language; the council retains the notice period option in the contract to decline future automatic renewals.

The city clerk recorded the roll calls and formal votes. The council then continued to other business.