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Sanitation provider asks Broken Bow council for rate bump; council pauses on trash-assessment ordinance
Summary
S&L Sanitation told council it needs a $2 monthly residential and $4 business increase citing higher landfill tipping fees and fuel costs; the council opened a hearing on Ordinance 1308 but voted not to waive three readings to allow a contract review.
City Administrator David Schmidt told the Broken Bow City Council on May 12 that S&L Sanitation had requested a trash-rate increase and that a public hearing had been opened on Ordinance 1308, which would add mandatory monthly trash assessments to utility bills.
Joseph Roach of S&L Sanitation told the council the company seeks a $2-per-month increase for residential service and $4-per-month for small, medium and large businesses. Roach attributed the request to higher dumping fees at the Custer Transfer Station and to increased fuel costs, saying fuel rose from roughly $3.34 per gallon when he took over the business to about $5.25 per gallon today. Administrator Schmidt confirmed he received the request through the company’s lawyer and advised the council of the circumstances.
Councilmembers questioned whether the current contract with S&L allowed tipping-fee increases to be passed through to the company’s customers. City Attorney Jason White said he would examine the contract language and report back. Mayor Rod Sonnichsen recommended the council not waive the ordinance’s three readings so members would have time to gather the necessary information; the council voted 4–0 not to waive the readings and City Clerk Jennifer Waterhouse performed the first reading of Ordinance 1308.
The council did not adopt the ordinance at the meeting; staff and legal review of the sanitation contract and any applicable tipping-fee provisions are the next steps.
