Mount Clemens awards five‑year residential refuse contract to Priority Waste; household costs to rise

Mount Clemens commissioners on June 5 approved a five‑year contract with Priority Waste for residential curbside pickup and related sanitation services, a change administration said will increase the annual per‑household sanitation cost over the term.

City staff said two bids were received for the June 19, 2023–June 18, 2028 contract. The commission voted to award the base bid (which does not include the optional Kirby automated cart system) to Priority Waste. Mr Shipman explained the bid tab and the procurement process; the commission discussed contract exit clauses and service logistics. The city currently reported a total annual cost per unit of $133.36; staff said Priority Waste’s base bid would raise that to $148.43 per unit and would increase to $167.57 in the fifth year of the contract.

Commissioners asked whether the base bid locks the city into the five‑year term without a routine 30‑ or 60‑day opt‑out; staff said the contract incorporates the bid documents and, unless there is a default, the city would not have a simple 30‑day out. Commissioners also questioned whether curbside access and routing would be affected on streets with heavy parking; DPW staff said the bid includes the same service types (trash, recycling, yard waste, bulk pickup) and that routes/timing might change but service types would continue. The Kirby cart option was bid as an alternate; the base motion approved by the commission did not include cart implementation.

The motion to award the base bid to Priority Waste carried on a roll call vote with all commissioners recorded as voting yes.