Kennesaw council directs staff to budget for Republic Services’ 4.4% sanitation increase, asks for recycling options
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Summary
City staff presented Republic Services’ proposed 4.4% rate increase; councilors asked about cutting yard-waste service or changing recycling frequency and directed staff to use 4.4% as a budgeting baseline while exploring alternatives and vendor details.
City staff told the Kennesaw City Council at its June 9 work session that Republic Services has proposed a 4.4% increase to residential sanitation rates and asked for direction as staff finalizes the budget.
"Republic came back with the adjusted increase of 4.4%, which honestly I'm happy with," Speaker 2 said, adding the city has absorbed prior increases and needs a baseline for budget planning. Staff said the 4.4% increase would amount to about $1.43 per household, raising the monthly charge from $32.50 to about $33.93 if passed.
Councilors and residents pressed staff for details about the recycling program and potential savings from cutting yard-waste service. One participant asked, "How many households are recycling? How many tons was being picked up? Where does the recycling go after they picked it up?" (Speaker 3). Staff provided monthly recycling tonnage for 2025—January 84.4 tons; February 79; March 85; April 70; May 85—and said average recycling is roughly 80 tons per month.
Several council members said eliminating yard-waste pickup was unlikely to yield meaningful savings because yard waste comprises a smaller share of the service than recycling. "The yard waste percentage is significantly less than the recycling," Speaker 2 said. Speakers also noted prior estimates that changing collection frequency can meaningfully affect costs: going from every-other-month to weekly recycling would materially change pricing.
Council direction: members asked staff to pursue options and pricing with Republic Services—such as service-frequency alternatives and any possible changes to yard-waste or recycling—and to return with recommendations as the budget is finalized. Speaker 2 said staff would use a 4.4% increase as the working budget baseline while continuing conversations with the vendor.
Next steps: staff will obtain pricing options from Republic Services, clarify contractor oversight (including where recyclables are processed), and report back during the budget process.
