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Sturgis commissioners direct staff to investigate recycling funding options amid ballot‑deadline limits
Summary
Following public comment and staff briefings, the commission asked staff to investigate funding alternatives to continue curbside recycling after current service ends; commissioners discussed ballot deadlines, single‑hauler ordinances, contracting options and short‑term stopgap measures.
The Sturgis City Commission heard extensive public comment and staff analysis about how to preserve curbside recycling and directed staff to return with options for the commission to consider.
Andrew Cook briefed commissioners on the state of negotiations and options: the city had received limited bids and existing contract terms make immediate continuity difficult. He told commissioners there are a range of options, including a city ordinance to provide recycling as a city‑run service (requiring bidding and billing similar to a municipal utility) or pursuing a single‑hauler model. "You would put into city ordinance that we provide...a recycling service in the ordinance, and then we would be required to then go out for bid and do that and put the bill, and then we would charge the citizenry that cost," Cook said.
Commissioners and members of the public pressed staff on timing and cost. The transcript records a petition/builder cutoff date of Aug. 12 to get an initiative on the November ballot and staff said the practical earliest route for voters would be a May or August election in 2026. Commissioners noted that an elected ordinance would reduce the commission’s future flexibility to change the policy without a supermajority. Several commissioners urged staff to investigate short‑ and long‑term options; the commission signaled consensus to have staff prepare additional information for a future meeting.
Why it matters: curbside recycling affects many households and municipal budgets; the commission must decide whether to continue the service citywide, fund it from the general budget, create a new billing mechanism or ask voters to approve a funding measure.
Next steps: staff will investigate options — including short‑term contracting extensions, route to solicit bids, an ordinance to provide city recycling or ballot measures — and return with recommendations at a future meeting. The transcript records differing viewpoints among commissioners about whether to put funding on a ballot or to find administrative alternatives.
