To re-bid or to not re-bid

Should the city put the contract for trash collection back out to bid this year?

Though the contract is not up for renewal until the middle of the year, the question was posed by Council Member Randy Stevenson during last week’s regular meeting.

The citizen feedback that led to his suggestion turned out to not be entirely accurate, but the council still considered the pros and cons.

According to Stevenson, he and Council Member Joe Wilson had heard from business owners that a Thursday pickup is problematic. Most of their business takes place at the weekend, he said, which means, “Their trash is overflowing for four days.”

Residents have also been caught “red-handed” using the cans, he added.

Stevenson suggested that putting the contract back out to bid might help the council take more control of matters such as pickup days. It would be, he said, “An opportunity for negotiation” and does not reflect a personal issue with the city’s current provider.

However, Public Works Director Mac Erickson explained that the current provider actually offers options according to need, such as additional cans and two pickups a week, for an additional charge to the customer.

Mayor Pro Tem Brad Marchant commented that, if the council is serious, it will be necessary to alert all trash collection businesses in the area.

Wilson noted that, aside from the service being acceptable, one of the reasons the city has stayed with its provider is that the price has not changed in the three or four years since the contract was first agreed, aside from fuel prices, and the original bid was also the lowest by a significant margin.

Negotiation goes both ways, said Marchant. There’s always the possibility that this will give the contractor a chance to increase their prices.

Council members agreed that the question can be revisited if necessary closer to the time of contract renewal. Council Member Callie Hilty requested information as to whether statute requires it to be re-bid after a certain number of years.