City budget includes three-year solid-waste contract and new line items for abandoned campers, carts and consultant

The City Council heard details on June 5 about the city’s waste collection and disposal budget, which now sits in its own cost center after being split from the Department of Facilities and Fleet Management. Director Jennifer Viera said the city entered a three-year contract with Capital Waste Services in July 2024 and that the FY26 budget reflects contractual rate increases in that agreement.

Viera described recurring purchases and operational costs tied to the contract: parts and repair funds for trash carts, and an order strategy that purchases in truckload quantities (examples cited: 304 95-gallon carts, 288 65-gallon carts). She said cart replacement is a recurring expense because many carts are about 13 years old (life expectancy roughly 10 years).

The proposed waste budget also includes $36,000 for a consultant to prepare the next hauler RFP and $25,000 to cover removal and disposal of abandoned campers, RVs, boats and trailers. Viera said since July 2024 the city has removed 8 campers/RVs, 5 boats and 6 trailers — 19 pieces in total — and that the removals have cost DFFM about $35,000 so far. “We are now asking for [disposal funding] to be part of the budget,” she said.

Councilors asked about vendor selection, vendor lists and contracting practice. Viera said procurement law requires three quotes for purchases above a specified threshold (discussed as $10,000 in the hearing) and that some vendors are on-call under contract. She also explained towing and disposal: the city initially pays tow companies to remove abandoned items and stores them until disposal; larger items may be charged by the foot for scrapping.

Councilors raised operational and oversight issues. Several members pressed why Capital Waste had not established a local office as represented during the contract procurement; councilors said the previously promised local office had not materialized. On recycling and commingling, Viera said Creed (Crapo) Hill monitors loads and the city receives notifications when commingling exceeds a threshold; she described footage-driven complaints as sometimes due to confusion between older recycling carts and trash carts.

Ending: Councilors requested additional documentation — including the consultant list used previously for RFP work, vendor-selection records and a breakdown tying vendor invoices to aggregated equipment-rental totals — and asked that DFFM continue the monthly contract review as the request-for-proposal process proceeds.