Dateline: September 6, 2007

Aldermen to consider privatizes trash service

Clarendon Aldermen will consider a proposal for privatizing the city’s trash service after a presentation from Allied Waste last Tuesday night.

At the invitation of Alderman Tommy Hill, representatives for Allied Waste (formerly BFI) addressed the board and said many cities use their services as a way to save money and raise quality of service.

Ray Allen said his company could either pick up the city’s Dumpsters as they are, implement a plan to replace those Dumpsters with new ones, or convert the city to a polycart system, in which the homeowners would be responsible for wheeling trash bins to the street on designated pick up days.

The advantage to the polycarts is that it helps eliminate illegal dumping in residential areas.

Allen also said Allied Waste charges cities in the area in a range from $9.35 to $13 per household. He said a rate for Clarendon would be based on the numbers of containers, pick ups, and commercial customers.

City Superintendent Jim Roberts said Clarendon had used BFI from 1985 to 1990 and that the rates just went up every year. Allen said rates would increase based on different factors such as the cost of fuel.

Allied Waste will present several proposals to the city at a later date.

In other city business, Aldermen adopted an ad valorem tax rate of $0.500289 per $100 valuation. That’s an increase in the tax rate from last year’s $0.49555, but the new rate will bring in about the same amount of revenue due to a drop in valuations.

The board approved a health insurance bid from First Care, which increased deductibles for city employees to $1,000 per year but keeps the same benefits.

The board discussed the proposed city budget, and Alderman Janice Knorpp reviewed the city’s contract with the Donley County Sheriff’s Office for law enforcement and code enforcement. She said she feels like the terms of the contract are not being met. The board will discuss this item more at a future date.

The board met with Roberts and discussed several changes regarding city policies. Roberts reported that the seal coat project would start August 30.