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Swarthmore council approves budget edits, awards trash and composting contracts and boosts community grants
Summary
At its Nov. 10 legislative session, Swarthmore Borough Council approved a slate of contract awards — including curbside composting to ZED 360 and trash services to BNL Disposal — and adjusted 2026 community-group funding, modeling an emergency services tax that narrows the projected surplus.
Swarthmore Borough Council voted Nov. 10 to award several municipal contracts, increase funding for local nonprofits and advance a draft 2026 budget that models an emergency services tax.
The council approved awarding the 2026–2028 curbside food-scraps contract to ZED 360 using the biweekly collection option. Sean (borough staff) told council, “If biweekly collection were selected, the annual cost would be $149,000,” and another member added, “Which is about $100 per household.” After questions about participation and long-term cost offsets, the motion to award the contract passed 5–1, with Councilmember Cindy in dissent.
Council also moved forward on other service contracts. Public works presented and council approved a $68,450 site-preparation contract for Little Crumb Creek Park with Premier Concrete. The borough approved a multi-year solid-waste contract with BNL Disposal covering recycling, bulk trash and yard waste, and ratified continuing animal-services arrangements with Brandywine. Finance motions ratified bills to pay totaling $851,777.30 and wire transfers of $6,192.91.
The budget discussion that followed changed the borough’s projected fiscal picture. Sean outlined a draft budget that includes a modeled emergency services tax of 0.5 mil, estimated to raise $321,950, and added a previously awarded $694,000 stream-restoration grant. He also noted the borough expects to cover roughly $31,000 in permitting and engineering costs beyond the grant’s capped engineering allowance, and reported that the modeled surplus has declined to about $34,793 from earlier projections.
Council adjusted community-group contributions after hearing public comment. The council amended the library allocation to $40,000 (motion passed 5–1), increased Park Avenue Community Center funding to $25,000 (motion passed 6–0) after testimony from PAC Center leaders, raised the senior-citizen allocation to $27,500 (motion passed 4–2; two council members opposed), approved SRA funding at $15,000, and moved to fund an initial Human Relations Commission event with $500 in operating support rather than the $1,200 originally requested.
Several council members framed the composting award as part of a broader waste-management strategy. Jared (public works) said the curbside program “could just be the first step of revitalizing our waste collection and making sure that our costs are down and the waste is going into the correct waste streams,” a point that supporters said could yield tonnage reductions and longer-term savings.
What’s next: staff will refine budget figures and return to council in December with updated totals and any remaining action points for final adoption of the 2026 budget. Contract documents will be completed administratively and monitored under the usual procurement and inspection processes.
