Commissioners direct staff to draft RFPs for county propane and trash pickup to seek savings

Commissioners asked county staff to draft requests for proposals (RFPs) for propane supply and for consolidated trash pickup after a presentation of usage and billing data.

Annie, a commissioner who brought the item forward, said she collected a year’s LP usage for county sites and recommended an RFP to lock in better pricing and streamline billing. "I collected the last year's data for the LP that we [use at] the nature park, the airport, and transit, which goes about 5,318 gallons," she said, and proposed that Fabian prepare an RFP so vendors could bid on consolidated service.

Why it matters: County operations across several small sites rely on contracted fuel and refuse services. Commissioners said combining users into a single procurement could yield lower per‑unit prices and simpler billing, which is especially valuable to small departments operating within tight budgets.

What the board directed: Commissioners agreed that interim Administrator/Controller Fabian should draft the RFPs for propane and, later, for trash pickup and present them to the appropriate committees. Fabian confirmed he would proceed with the procurement work.

What was said about competition: Commissioners noted the county currently uses multiple vendors for both propane and garbage and that soliciting bids from all local suppliers could improve price and service consistency. One commissioner noted anecdotal per‑gallon price variance among local providers as another motivation to seek bids.

Next steps: Staff will prepare RFP drafts for commissioners and affected department heads to review; the procurement will go to the appropriate committee(s) for approval before public advertising and solicitation.