Lewiston delays vote on Sunshine Disposal's 18.5% request, asks company for cost documentation

Lewiston, Idaho — Jan. 26, 2026

Lewiston City Council on Monday continued a public hearing on a proposed amendment to the city's franchise agreement with Sanitary Disposal Inc. (doing business as Sunshine Disposal and Recycling), asking the company to provide documentation verifying the cost increases it says justify an 18.5% one-time adjustment. The council set the next hearing for Feb. 23, 2026.

Public Works Director Dustin Johnson framed the request as an amendment to the 2021 franchise agreement that governs the city's contracted sanitation services. Johnson said sanitation is largely contract-driven and that Sunshine receives roughly two-thirds of the utility's contracted-service payments. He said the franchise currently uses a CPI-based adjustment and that the company has requested a shift to an industry-specific Producer Price Index (PPI) for future annual adjustments.

Representatives of Sunshine Disposal told the council the company has seen sustained cost increases since the pandemic for labor, trucks and materials. Brian Coddington, who represented Sunshine, said the company's operating costs have increased substantially and that other jurisdictions had sought 20% to 25% adjustments. John Lloyd, Sunshine's CFO, said the company believes the current CPI-based index undercompensates the industry and that moving to a PPI tied to solid-waste production would better reflect actual cost changes.

Council members pressed for evidence. Councilor Spickelmeyer and others asked whether the PPI is national or regional and requested profit-and-loss or cart-rate series that would show historical price movement. Sunshine said it could provide supporting figures but noted it is privately held and asked that competitively sensitive documents be protected; City Attorney Jennifer Tangano said the company may designate materials as trade secret so the city can redact public records where appropriate.

A member of the public, Esther Klein, raised concerns about an operational change discussed in the amendment package: moving yard-waste collection toward compostable/paper bags. Klein said paper bags would be harder and more expensive for some residents; staff said any change would be phased, the city would accept plastic during a transition period, and the city would pursue outreach and potential vendor partnerships to reduce burden.

Councilor Spickelmeyer moved to continue the public hearing until the city receives documentation verifying Sunshine Disposal's increased costs; Council President Klieberg seconded the motion. The motion carried, and the council scheduled the continued hearing for its regular meeting on Feb. 23, 2026. The city also postponed the ordinance's first reading to that date.

What comes next: Sunshine and city staff were asked to provide the index series identifier the company intends to use, a year-to-year series for the per-cart price or cart-rate that the city pays, and cost-supporting documentation that can be filed under confidentiality if needed. The council will revisit the ordinance and take public testimony at the Feb. 23 meeting.

Speakers quoted in this article are identified in the meeting record.