Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Solid Waste topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Milwaukie council votes to end continuing solid-waste franchise model, sets fixed-term path
Summary
After a public hearing in which haulers urged amendment rather than termination, the council unanimously adopted an ordinance terminating the continuing rolling franchise and converting existing franchises to fixed 10-year terms (expiring 01/01/2035), while leaving open future code changes.
Milwaukie council members on Tuesday voted unanimously to terminate the city's continuing rolling solid-waste franchise model and to transition existing franchise agreements to fixed 10-year terms that staff said will expire Jan. 1, 2035.
Finance Director Michael Osborne told council that terminating the continuing 10-year rolling franchise would require the city to give 30 days' notice and that the ordinance under consideration would change the framework so existing franchisees move to a fixed term with an expiration date in 2035.
Hauler representatives urged a different path. "Terminating the franchises creates new costs," Beth Vargas Duncan, regional director at the Oregon Refuse and Recycling Association, told council during the public hearing, asking the city to consider amending the existing franchise code rather than terminating it and starting from scratch.
A local hauler owner, Keith Miller, said small businesses rely on long franchise terms to finance equipment and that shortening or terminating the continuing franchise could make capital investment harder for locally owned firms.
Council and city attorneys discussed whether the municipal code provides a straightforward route to amend the continuing franchise; staff attorneys said the code offers termination as the clear off-ramp for the rolling franchise and that amending the term would require separate code work. Several council members said they wanted to avoid disruption to service and acknowledged hauler concerns about financing and capital replacement.
Councilor Massey moved and the council adopted the ordinance on first and second readings by title only; the vote was unanimous. The ordinance was recorded as Ordinance 2258 and the council recorded the final vote as passing unanimously (4-0) in the meeting record.
The council did not adopt specific new franchise contract language at the meeting; staff said termination does not prevent the council from returning later to consider code amendments or a replacement franchise structure and that draft IGAs and sample amendments could be provided in follow-up sessions.
Next steps: staff will schedule follow-up work after the budget season; council members signaled willingness to revisit code changes or a new RFP process and to work with haulers on transitional issues.
