Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Solid Waste topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Carlisle reviews solid‑waste survey, extends contract and forms subcommittee to study bringing collection in‑house
Summary
Staff reported more than 1,000 survey responses on solid-waste service; council extended the current contract, approved initial capital budgeting for a potential in‑house program and will consider a resolution in December to express intent for next steps.
Council heard a detailed solid-waste update on Nov. 17 that highlighted customer survey results, the vendor contract extension and a staff recommendation to study an in‑house option.
Staff said the solid-waste fund is currently operated as a pass‑through for contractor billing and that the draft budget proposes no separate rate change beyond contract increases. They reported receiving more than 1,000 survey responses (many by paper) and summarized headline findings: most respondents reported satisfaction with current service, 604 respondents preferred the current system rather than tiered billing, 616 expressed desire for e‑waste or household hazardous‑waste collection, and a substantial subset expressed concern about cost and interest in a tiered billing structure.
Council actions and next steps: council previously extended the vendor contract through its extension option and established a subcommittee composed of council members, staff and community members to evaluate whether moving collection in‑house would be beneficial. Staff noted capital startup costs in the draft budget for an in‑house program of roughly $600,000 (offset in part by bonds per staff presentation) and said council will be presented with a resolution in December expressing the council’s intent to continue the evaluation.
Staff emphasized tradeoffs: bringing collection in‑house could change the fund’s need for a reserve and shift operating risk to the borough, while the current single-bidder market constrains competitive options and contributes to higher costs.
Quote: "Our current program ends in December 2027, so that gives us 2 years to order the vehicles if that's the route we wanna go ... capital expenses ... includes $600,000 to start the program," the presenter said.
