Cortland City Council on Dec. 1 withdrew Ordinance O-67-25, a first-reading ordinance that would have authorized a multi-year contract with Browning-Ferris Industries (doing business as Republic Services) for refuse removal, after council members and residents raised concerns about the competitive-bidding process and service details for recycling.

The ordinance’s withdrawal followed more than an hour of discussion during which council members repeatedly pressed staff on why the city appeared to have negotiated with a single vendor rather than reissuing an open competitive bid. Council members and residents cited missed pickups, uncertainty about whether the vendor could provide recycling carts for all households, and a history of extensions on prior contracts.

Residents described local service problems. “Every Friday morning before I go to work, I’m picking up trash in front of my house,” said resident Chris Vaddis, who gave his address to the record. Sydney Hovis, another resident, asked for the timing of the prior bidding process and whether the city had allowed sufficient lead time for other companies to prepare bids.

City staff and proponents said earlier bid solicitations showed only one bidder able to meet the city’s recycling-cart requirement and that the city delayed awarding a contract while negotiating a pricing structure to support new carts. A staff speaker said the city had worked with Republic Services on cart pricing and that negotiations, not inaction, accounted for the delay.

Council members pressed that point. One council member said the original open-bid process had rejected all bids in August 2024 and that, in their view, the proper remedy was to re-bid rather than approve the proposal as presented. Another council member asked staff to commit to a new, tracked procurement timeline so contract expirations are not missed in future.

After the back-and-forth and reports of recent missed pickups, the presiding officer announced the ordinance was withdrawn and directed staff to prepare legislation to advertise the refuse contract for bid using the previous bid language and qualifications. Staff said Republic Services would continue existing pickup while the city re-advertises and develops a new solicitation.

The action ends the council’s immediate consideration of the proposed five-year contract and returns the matter to staff for a competitive procurement process before any new contract is awarded.