It took three separate votes for the city council to decide which pricing model Sebastian would use for trash collection. They finally voted 3-2 for the Universal once-a-week pickup proposal from Waste Management.
Under the new $19.45 monthly rate, residents get one weekly pickup and yard waste. In addition, they pay an additional 6% franchise fee. However, the council may relieve homeowners from the fee and only require businesses to pay it.
The vote comes after the city hosted two workshops for citizens to understand the difference between the Universal and Subscription pricing models. Residents supporting both pricing models voiced their opinions during the workshops.
According to Waste Management, only about 400 residents are snowbirds and use the Subscription service to start and stop trash collection services. About 17% of residents had their service shut off for non-payment at a rate that was already cheap.
The current Waste Management contract expires in July 2023.
For the past ten years, one of the lowest rates for solid waste collection was in Sebastian. It was a Subscription based model, allowing residents to opt out of the services at any time. However, the new pricing will be Universal, making it mandatory for all homeowners to pay for trash pickup through the homeowner’s tax roll.
The contract is for seven years with a five-year renewal. Recycling will not change since that’s with the county.
Waste Management says growing costs and inflation have hurt them. Under the new plan, the company will buy all new trucks and trash containers for customers.
City Council Discussion
Mayor Fred Jones and Councilman Bob McPartlan voted for Subscription. Vice Mayor Chris Nunn and Council members Kelly Dixon and Ed Dodd voted for Universal.
Jones didn’t want to force people to pay through the Universal plan, stating residents should have a choice. Likewise, McPartlan didn’t want to mandate residents on a fixed income to pay for service.
However, Nunn said the Universal plan saves each homeowner more than $100 a year for trash collection.
Dixon said she could not ask 70% of citizens to pay more so that 30% could have the option to opt out of services.
“There’s a big problem with people not paying for garbage, and they are putting it into their recycling containers, and that’s wreaking havoc,” said Dixon.
Nunn said the last contract with Waste Management was for ten years, which had a low rate, and that costs for everything are higher than a decade ago.
“I just remind people this was a ten-year contract. Has anything else went up in ten years? I guarantee it has,” said Nunn. “People ask me, ‘well, what about those on fixed incomes?’ I have an old lady that lives down the street with ADA accessibility that has Waste Management go to her door and pick up her garbage can. That lady’s on a fixed income. If she has Universal service, she’s only paying $20 a month instead of $27 a month.”
Dodd was unhappy voting for Universal as he dislikes mandating people, but he felt it made more sense.
“I’m still not happy with the Universal piece. I’m not happy with mandating people. But I think, quite frankly, it’s beginning to make more sense to me than the Subscription service,” said Dodd.
McPartlan suggested that if most people prefer the cheaper rate of Universal, the city should send it out again for bid. He felt that they would receive more competition in the marketplace.
Jones was outspoken about how he feels about mandates.
“I believe that every homeowner should have the option to decide whether or not they want garbage pickup or not,” said Jones. “I believe they should have the option, and if they don’t want a Subscription, then they can take it to the dump.”
Sebastian Daily Poll
Last Monday night, Sebastian Daily sent a survey to its newsletter subscribers showing the four options from Waste Management’s proposal, including the prices.
Here are the results:
- Subscription Pricing 1 for $42 per month – 2%
- Subscription Pricing 2 for $27.75 per month – 14%
- Universal Pricing 1 for $29.74 – 16%
- Universal Pricing 2 for $19.45 – 68%
Overall, 84% voted for Universal. Of those results, 68% favored the $19.45 price per month.
