Richfield council approves five-year renewal for White Sanitation with clarified $13.50 base rate

The Richfield City Council approved a five-year renewal of the city’s garbage-collection contract with White Sanitation, clarifying a base monthly rate of $13.50. A White Sanitation representative told the council the company intends to maintain current routes and services while seeking a modest increase to account for post‑COVID cost changes.

Council members raised questions about the draft contract language and a discrepancy in the rate table; one council member noted the table shows a 50¢ difference between a listed $13.00 figure and a $13.50 base rate and said staff should correct the apparent typo. The company representative said $13.50 is what was discussed and that the firm had not raised rates in five years.

A council member asked how much the increase would affect an average household. The representative estimated the change would be “about $25 a year” for customers, given a prior base around $10.75. The representative also explained higher replacement costs for additional cans after supply disruptions during COVID-19.

During the discussion a resident’s email praising a sanitation employee was read aloud. The email, attributed to Rhonda Kutzler, described a worker who cleaned spilled yard debris from a neighbor’s boxes and loaded the material into the truck; the email said, in part, “He cleaned it up and then the third box. Then he dumped the picked up debris and the boxes into his truck and left the once disaster all clean and nice.”

After discussion and a motion to renew the contract with White Sanitation (with the clarified base rate), the council approved the renewal by voice vote. The motion was moved and seconded at the meeting; the transcript records a voice approval but does not provide a roll-call tally.