Ben Hill County Commission approves optional curbside trash contract with Golden Environmental after 3-2 vote

Chairman Hal Wiley and the Ben Hill County Board of Commissioners approved a contract on June 3 allowing Golden Environmental LLC to offer optional curbside trash service to residents while the county retains two staffed convenience sites.

County Manager Hampton Raulerson introduced the proposal, saying the private contractor would supply cans and a truck, take over commercial accounts and continue service at the Joshlyn and Westwood convenience sites. Raulerson said the curbside option would not be mandatory and that the county would still operate the two staffed sites. He told commissioners Golden would charge a monthly fee of $25 for one can and $11.50 for each additional can.

"This will save the county money," Raulerson said, arguing a user-fee model can be more equitable than the current arrangement. "Those who generate trash have a way to pay for it, and some people are not paying more than others."

Commissioner John Mooney, who moved the contract approval, said moving to a fee-for-service system is common in other counties and could reduce inequities in how trash service is funded. "This gives us an opportunity to move to a model where everybody that generates trash has a way to pay for it," Mooney said.

Mr. Richard Golden, representing the company named in the contract, said nearby counties have used the same optional model and that Golden currently serves subscriptions in comparable rural areas. "Tift County went to this same model in 2015," Golden said.

Road Superintendent Nathan Fountain told commissioners the Road Department would likely see reduced strain because staff currently assist with maintaining convenience sites and conducting post-holiday cleanups. "Golden would be a big help for the Road Department," Fountain said.

Public comment included requests for more public hearings and concerns about potential increases in roadside dumping and wear on unpaved roads. Jason Miller, a resident, asked the board to hold public hearings before moving forward, noting SPLOST funds previously purchased county trucks and cans. "I am asking the Commissioners to consider public hearings," Miller said.

Resident Shannon Dorough said the convenience site she uses has been available to her for 30 years and warned that closing or reducing access could push people to dump along dirt roads near her property. "When those dumpsites are closed, people will come right down there in the same place they throw their dogs off they will throw their trash off," Dorough said.

On the motion to approve the contract, Commissioners John Mooney, Vice-Chair Hope Harmon and Chairman Hal Wiley voted yes; Commissioners Daniel Cowan and Bennie Calloway voted no. The motion passed 3-2.

The contract specifies that Golden will purchase cans and a trash truck, continue pickup at convenience sites and absorb the county's commercial customers; the county will continue to operate the Joshlyn and Westwood convenience sites. The contract sets the advertised residential monthly can fee at $25 and an additional can at $11.50. The board did not set a date to begin service in the published minutes.

Next steps referenced at the meeting: Golden will supply equipment and begin transitioning accounts according to the contract; the county will maintain the two convenience sites and remove the labor burden of daily operations from the Road Department.