Snellville City staff told the mayor and council on Nov. 18 that the city will issue a request for proposals to replace its expiring sanitation contract and recommended several service changes intended to simplify operations and reduce confusion.

A city staff member summarized the program and the procurement timeline: Waste Management currently handles commercial service and subcontracts residential pickups (the meeting record identified the subcontractor by name), the residential program serves roughly 7,600 households with about 1,200 subscription recycling participants, and the present contract "sunsets on 06/30/2026," the staff member said. Staff recommended putting the specifications in an invitation to bid on Jan. 5, hold a mandatory pre‑bid meeting the week of Jan. 15, accept proposals and interview top candidates, and return a recommendation to council for contract approval at the Feb. 23 meeting.

On service design, staff proposed keeping weekly residential pickups but standardizing container size to a 95‑gallon cart and setting a 6 a.m. pickup window so crews can complete routes. "We're proposing a 6AM pickup time," the staff member said during the presentation. Staff also recommended eliminating the city’s branded blue‑bag overflow program and rolling bulk‑item pickup (two items per household) into the contracted services to reduce administrative complexity.

The staff presentation included an optional, on‑demand neighborhood dumpster program for targeted blight cleanups — a 30‑yard dumpster a neighborhood or code‑enforcement team could request on a limited schedule. Staff said the dumpster option would be priced as a discrete item in the contract so the city could use it when needed rather than building it into the base fee.

Councilmembers pressed staff on cost, enforcement and equity. Several speakers asked how the proposed changes would affect low‑income and fixed‑income residents and whether an exemption or senior discount is feasible; staff said exemptions are a policy decision for council and that pay‑as‑you‑throw programs or a targeted exemption regime would require a multi‑year effort and are not ready to be included in the immediate RFP. One councilmember summarized the equity point this way: "people have been paying for it. It's coming from your taxes," noting the sanitation enterprise fund previously absorbed costs that were not visible on resident bills.

Staff reviewed procurement safeguards: mandatory pre‑bid attendance to be required for bidders, written Q&A and addenda to ensure all bidders receive the same information, a scoring rubric that considers qualifications, capacity and price, finalist interviews and a staff recommendation to council. Staff said the city will allow firms to bid for residential service only, commercial only, or both, which could result in separate residential and commercial contracts.

No formal motion or vote was taken during the work session. Staff presented the recommended specifications and timetable and said they would prepare the invitation to bid and return to council with finalist presentations and a contract recommendation at the Feb. 23 meeting.

The mayor and council then moved to a short executive session to discuss matters identified at the end of the work session.

What happens next: staff will finalize the bid package for Jan. 5, hold the mandatory pre‑bid in mid‑January, evaluate proposals with a rubric, interview finalists and ask the council to approve a contract on Feb. 23. If the recommended hauler differs from the incumbent, staff said the city would build roughly three to four months into the schedule to allow for a transition between providers.