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Supervisors weigh trash-fee increase after vendor bids show up to 23% rise
Summary
At a July 20, 2026 supervisors workshop, township staff told the Board of Supervisors that recent outside bids suggest a potential 23% increase in residential trash/recycling contract costs if the township rebids; staff recommended running budget projections and offered options including a limited 2027 increase, using an optional 1-year extension (about 10%), or forming a task force to study service models.
Township staff told the Board of Supervisors on July 20, 2026, that preliminary outside bid results — drawn from neighboring East Goshen’s procurement — indicate bids that could mean roughly a 23% increase in contract costs if the township contracts anew for residential trash and recycling services. Staff noted that exercising an optional contract extension would likely yield a smaller rise, near 10%.
The presentation, delivered by a staff member, reviewed the refuse fund and projected 2027 revenue and expenses used for budget planning. Staff reported a projected revenue figure of “1.7” and expenses of roughly “1.8” as presented at the workshop; the units for those figures were not specified in the slides or remarks. Staff also said the township had received a 2023 recycling grant and is still awaiting 2024–25 grant payments, which can take two to three years to be disbursed and therefore affect near-term cash flow.
Why it matters: the board will finalize a draft budget this summer, and any decision to raise the residential trash fee for 2027 would need to be considered before that draft is finalized. A mis-timed fee change could either prematurely deplete the refuse fund or shift larger costs to taxpayers if large contract increases arrive in 2028.
Board members and a presenter discussed options rather than making a decision. One supervisor said the board could “smooth it out” by taking a small increase now to anticipate a larger 2028 spike. Staff recalled other municipalities reporting increases up to about 40% in prior years but said results vary by market. The presenter offered to run budgetary projections for scenarios (for example, modeling 23% and 10% increases) with staff to show the fund impact and quarterly billing timing.
Staff suggested the board could also form a task force to study service alternatives ahead of the 2028 contract cycle. Options discussed included changing collection frequency (weekly vs. biweekly), adopting automated loaders, eliminating a separate bulk pickup, or participating in a countywide recycling consortium. No motion or vote was taken; staff said they would prepare projection scenarios to inform a future decision.
Next steps: staff will produce modeled budget scenarios and bring those projections back to the board. The supervisors made no binding decision at the workshop.
