West Memphis plan to raise dumpster rates hits snag

Lack of ordinance leaves council with nothing to vote on

news@theeveningtimes.com A proposal to increase commercial dumpster rate in West Memphis stalled in city council last month due one small missing detail…

Public Works director Michael Bonner failed to deliver the proposal in the form of an ordinance council members to consider.

The city’s Public Works Commission had already heard and recommended the proposed rate hike and referred the matter to City Council for consideration in both February and March, but commissioners still wound up empty-handed.

City sanitation has been in a conundrum. Councilman James Holt expressed desires for the city to increase commercial Dumpster service, but the sanitation department had no means to fix existing bins let alone buy more.

Bonner told city council many bins had been neglected to the point that

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Photo by John Rech FEES(cont.)

repairs cost nearly as much as replacement. The last commercial rate increase was 15 years ago. The department planned on purchasing new bins rather than continue to fix dilapidated

The public works department conducted a price comparison study with competing private services to justify the proposed increase. Republic and Waste management rates before taxes and fuel surcharges were lined out next to city rates. The department proposes a 25 percent fee increase and still landed as the cheapest service in the area.

Proposed prices for once-aweek commercial garbage pick-up varied by bin size.

Four-yard bins were set to move from $65 to $81. Sixyard bins would increase to $106 with the nearest competitor at $132. Proposed eight-yard bins rate would rise to $131, $12.65 less than the nearest competitor. Public Works Chairperson Lorraine Mohamed apologized for the snafu and passed out the proposed rate increases to the full city council. City engineer Amanda Hicks outlined the proper procedure for city council.

“This needs to come to city council in the form of an ordinance which set the new rates and abolishes the previous rate ordinance,” said Hicks.