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County proposes modern franchise agreement to standardize solid-waste service and support new facilities
Summary
Deschutes County staff presented a draft franchise framework and a proposed intergovernmental agreement to centralize administration of recycling, organics and customer service and to support planned investments in transfer stations, composting and a potential new landfill and materials-processing facilities.
Deschutes County and City of Bend staff outlined a plan to modernize franchise agreements for solid-waste collection and to create an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) that would centralize administration of recycling modernization requirements and customer service, with the county administering day-to-day operations.
Tim Brownell, Deschutes County Solid Waste director, and Stephanie Betteridge, City of Bend assistant city manager, described objectives: ensure reliable material flows to justify planned county infrastructure investments (new landfill, upgraded transfer stations, expanded composting, and a potential materials-processing facility), create consistent service requirements for haulers, expand public education/outreach and establish financial and service reporting requirements.
Why it matters: county staff said prospective infrastructure costs are large (examples cited: landfill $40–$55 million; transfer-station upgrades roughly $20 million each; processing facilities tens of millions), and staff argued consistent franchise terms and centralized reporting would protect those investments and advance diversion goals (county currently cited at ~27% diversion with a 45% goal).
Key elements of the draft: staff described establishing quantifiable service requirements (frequency, response time for missed pickups), financial reporting by franchise haulers, a performance-improvement plan and liquidated-damages provisions for chronic service failures, and a structured rate-adjustment process (CPI adjustments within a defined margin; extraordinary adjustments subject to elected-body review).
Partners and timeline: franchisees named in discussion were Cascade Disposal and Republic Services. County staff said negotiations with haulers were ongoing and that Redmond had progressed with its own negotiations; the county and cities aim to complete negotiations and present agreements to elected bodies by June.
Ending: staff said the county would administer ongoing reporting and the RMA/OTR legislative requirements; the IGA would be flexible and include conflict-resolution language. Officials said the arrangement should yield consistent service standards across jurisdictions and support major capital investments.
