The City of Fishers took another step toward implementing a 10-year city-wide trash collection service Tuesday morning when the Board of Public Works and Safety held a public hearing on the proposed 10-year contract with Republic. There were 8 speakers and all had various comments.
Some were supportive of the city’s proposal. Some Homeowners Associations (HOAs) were not supportive in situations where they have negotiated lower monthly rates than the city for 2025.
The city’s Chief of Staff Jordin Alexander, in a presentation prior to the public hearing, said the many comparisons between the 2025 monthly trash collection rate for Fishers and Carmel are not fair comparisons. Carmel has an ongoing contract with Republic, but with Fishers, the vendor needs to gear up for new customers. Republic already serves 60% of the Fishers market.
Alexander also pointed to 2 other Central Indiana cities with new trash collection contracts, Lawrence and Whiteland. Lawrence will have a 2025 monthly trash collection fee of $17.05 per month, Whiteland’s fee will be $18.05. Fishers monthly trash collection fee will be $16.38 per month in 2025, per the proposed pact with Republic.
The City of Fishers will handle the billing for trash collection services, and consolidate all fees paid to the city with the trash, including stormwater fees. Many HOAs currently pay these fees for their homeowners and roll it up into the fee paid to the HOA. Alexander tells LarryInFishers that will change next year, so that will impact what HOA boards charge their members when the city begins to bill individual homeowners, not the HOA.
Some of the public comments were critical of the $2 per month administrative fee, pointing out other municipalities charging a lower administrative fee. Mayor Scott Fadness said this is needed to ensure there is staff to handle customer complaints in a timely and complete manner.
The public hearing raised the issue of cancellation fees if, for example, there is a current contract with WM (formerly known as Waste Management). Alexander tells LarryInFishers the bidders for the contract had to commit not to charge such cancellation fees.
Another public hearing comment pointed to other municipal contracts that allow free pickups of large items every 8-12 weeks with no extra fee. The Fishers proposed contract calls for a $25 fee for large pickup. Fadness told the commenter he would look into that.
When the public hearing ended, Mayor Fadness pointed to the wide variance in what different neighborhoods and individuals are paying for trash collection service at the present time.
“On the aggregate, from what we’ve learned from community surveys….we have the opportunity to save a number of Fishers residents, the majority of Fishers residents, a significant amount of money,” said Fadness. The mayor added he wants accountability in this contract, and that is why the $2 per month administrative fee is part of the deal. According to the mayor, this fee is not a “hidden tax.”
The next step in this process is a trash collection rate ordinance that will go before the City Council Monday, August 19. The Board of Public Works and Safety will then take a final vote on the contract August 27. The earliest the new trash collection contract would take effect is January, 2025.
For more detailed information on the proposed trash collection contract, use this link.
Thanks for attending and getting the word out. That silly thing called work got in the way for me to be able to attend… I like what I’m hearing so far and would like to see this contract go into execution. I’m fairly certain the places that have their own contracts in place at the moment are going to be in for a major sticker shock when they go to renegotiate at the next round– but what does the marketplace actually know?
$2 per home, per month x 32,333 homes = $776,000/year. Assuming they have a staff of three workers (at $50,000 each) and one supervisor (at $75,000) that comes to $225,000. Add the payroll burden and we’ve arrived at $300,000/year. Where exactly is that extra $476,000 per year going? This bucket has a leak and it needs to be found.
All the talk about Carmel having a lower rate seems to ignore this factor. Carmel only adds a $1 admin fee every month. Why can they do it for 50% less than Fishers? At the end of the day it’s still much cheaper for most residents, but it is questionable. The disclosed rates show the $2 staying steady over the 10 year contract – wonder if the city is willing to guarantee that to residents?
Hi Matt, where are you seeing the $1 fee Carmel charges? All I could find was $.25 here: https://carmelutilities.com/2024/01/03/carmel-city-council-approves-new-residential-trash-and-recycling-contract/
Oops I must have been mistaken. I think it further supports the point though that the Republic rate is probably fair, but the admin fee seems a little high. Excluding the $2 admin fee, each Fishers residence will pay Republic $14.39 in 2025. Excluding Carmel’s $0.25 fee, Carmel residents are paying $15.10.
Thanks for responding! I wanted to make sure I hadn’t missed anything. I had trouble finding the actual Carmel ordinance and was relying on their utilities website. I don’t want to be the source of bad info.