The City Council on Monday night unanimously approved Republic Services to take over the city’s solid waste hailing contract when the current one expires at the end of May.
Under the new contract, ratepayers should see a decrease an estimated cost reduction of about $1 per month when the new contract kicks in, except the 4,700 residents in the annexation areas of the city presently served by Republic, who should see drop of about $9 per month.
Also included in the new contract with Republic will be provisions to protect drivers, including one that requires all displaced drivers to be considered as a hire for the new routes at current compensation levels.
“It requires them to hire displaced drivers and keep their wages and benefits whole,” Solid Waste Coordinator Linda Knight said.
The decision comes after several months of internal talks and review and about 10 days of public discussion on the matter. The current contract with Waste Management, who has collected garbage in the city for nearly 26 years, ends May 1.
During a short presentation at Monday’s Committee of the Whole meeting, Knight and Public Works Director Gregg Zimmerman again went through the city’s recommendation process and reiterated some of the reasons they were recommending Republic.
According to staff, the city decided last year to not extend the current contract, but go out with a request for proposals to try and get a better deal and improve customer service. The city is also planning a switch from a city-billing model to one in which the contractor handles the billing.
Staff was quick to point out that collection services have been “excellent” but that they have been disappointed by an increasing level of complaints about Waste Management’s customer service.
“We’ve noticed there has been a decline in those issues,” Zimmerman said.
Waste Management was one of four companies that responded to the RFP and one of the two that made the final cut (two were eliminated due to cost).
In total, Waste Management’s proposal came in at about $20,000 per month cheaper than Republic’s, which staff said would amount to “pennies on the dollar” for the average ratepayer.
But Knight said while they appreciate all that WM has done, including its sponsorships and support of community events, Republic also “shares our values” and would continue those partnerships.
“To be present in Renton needs a commitment to Renton,” Knight said. “We’re confident they will match what Waste management does with the city.”
During the presentation, Knight focused on the differences between the two proposals. Republic’s proposal included longer customer service hours, quicker pick-ups for missed collection and a local billing office, as opposed to one out-of-state.
According to Zimmerman, WM in their initial proposal, interviews and conversations declined to provide the same level of service proposed by Republic.
Knight and Zimmerman also spoke about the “reference checks” with seven neighboring cities. Knight said Republic passed the checks with “flying colors,” while the other cities had “really low marks” for WM.
Councilman Don Persson said he has been “deluged with information” since the news of the possible change broke, including from the companies and from residents, whom he said told “horror stories” about trying to contact WM.
“To me, a local office where someone can walk in the door or have someone local to answer the phone is very, very important,” Persson said. “I think it’s worth a lot of money to our residents.”
The vote on Monday directs the city to complete negotiations on the next 10-year contract with Republic Services. According to staff, there will be few, if any, changes for residents. Pick up should all remain the same, as should the bins currently being used by residents, although they may get a new label.
