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PARKERSBURG – The agenda for Tuesday’s special council meetings includes the first look at proposed contracts for solid waste and recycling services to be provided by Waste Management and Rumpke, respectively.

Ordinances approving the contracts are slated to appear on first reading during a 7:30 p.m. special meeting. They would have to be approved on two readings, without significant amendments, before they could be signed.

Mayor Tom Joyce said that, if the contracts are approved, he estimates the new services would start around March 1.

A public discussion is scheduled from 6-7:30 p.m. in council chambers on the second floor of the Municipal Building.

Mayor Tom Joyce sent council a Dec. 31 memorandum about the proposed contracts. He said the administration is proposing reducing the sanitation fee to $19.50 a month if the contract with Waste Management is approved. Council approved increasing the sanitation fee from $18 to $22 a month as of July 1 to help make up for shortfalls in the sanitation budget and cover raises for medium equipment operators in the department.

The memo also proposes a two-month credit of $44 for all customers who are current on their bills as of Jan. 31. The credit would be applied in the March billing cycle, Joyce said.

“This proposal is intended to modestly compensate customers for the disruption and delays experienced during the past 12 months,” he said.

Recycling services have been suspended since May due to staffing issues, including vacancies and excessive call-offs, officials have said.

Documents with the contract indicate Waste Management would charge the city $17.65 per unit per month for sanitation service. The city would continue to bill for the service and take action against delinquent payers.

Joyce and Finance Director Eric Jiles said the difference in the monthly charge by Waste Management to the city and the city’s sanitation fee would cover overhead like statements, postage and personnel. Joyce said in the memo this will be done to “ensure that residents receive services and maintain health and sanitary conditions across the community.”

The city must also consider the expenses in covering unpaid fees and pursue those fees through legal filings, Joyce said.

“We need to be able to charge enough to collect enough to be able to pay the bill when it’s due,” he said.

While the city’s sanitation service and fee included curbside recycling, if both contracts are approved, that would now be a separate service for which residents who want to participate would pay an additional fee.

“This contract provides customers with pre-negotiated pricing and a significantly broader scope of materials eligible for recycling,” Joyce says in the memo.

According to the proposed contract with Rumpke, the monthly cost would be $15.25 in the first year, increasing to $15.86 in the second and $16.49 in the third. Prices for optional fourth and fifth years would be $17.15 and $17.84, respectively.

Rumpke will invoice residents directly for six months’ payment in advance, the contract says

Should participation drop below 900 units, the city would pay the minimum recycling invoice for 900 units, the proposed contract says. It adds that Rumpke and the city “will work together on a plan to boost participation.”

“It’s become apparent that … if you’re not charging for the collection and/or processing, this is a hugely expensive” operation, Joyce said.

From fiscal year 2019 to fiscal year 2025, which ended June 30, Joyce said the city’s Municipal Recycling Facility had a combined operating deficit of nearly $3.8 million. He attributed this to private haulers, as well as people who live outside the city, bringing recyclables to the facility and the city not charging to accept and sort it.

“Nowhere are we required to be the de facto recycling provider for all the other residents of Wood County and, quite frankly, a lot of people from Ohio,” Joyce said.

If council approves the contracts, the mayor said in the memo that remaining eligible regular full-time sanitation employees will be offered another position in the city or as a severance payment, their regular wages through the remainder of the fiscal year, which ends June 30.

Waste Management has assured city officials that sanitation employees who are qualified will have an opportunity to interview for a job with them, Joyce said. However, there are only five regular, full-time employees left in the department and they would receive the severance package if they don’t stay with the city.

“If they take that job (with Waste Management), they get the severance package as well,” Jiles said.

Among provisions in the solid waste contract is Waste Management will pick up two bulk items per month per residence.

Bulk items listed in the ordinance include large appliances, furniture, washers and dryers, yard waste in plastic bags, mattresses and box springs, dressers, tables and chairs, and toilets.

Tires of no more than 16.5 inches in radius will be taken away. The limit is two tires per quarter and no more than eight per calendar year.

Additional bulk items can be picked up with an additional cost. It would cost $40 to get a refrigerator, $26 for small appliances, $40 and $71 for small or large demolition and construction debris and $45 and $26 for large and small furniture, among other fees for additional bulk items.

For recycling, Rumpke will accept paper; glass bottles and jars; plastic bottles, jugs and tubs; metal cans; and cartons, according to the company’s proposal to the city.

The company will provide a 95-gallon recycling cart with an initial $20 fee. The company will replace one stolen or damaged cart per unit. Additional stolen carts will require $100 paid in advance to replace.

Carts, which remain the property of Rumpke, damaged through typical wear and tear from normal collection will be replaced. Carts damaged beyond normal collection wear will be replaced and will require $100 paid in advance.

Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.

Jess Mancini can be reached at jmancini@newsandsentinel.com.