From the desk of Larry Dillon
“Trash Talk”
When I returned to McLoud in 2009, as the City Manager, I found a very strange phenomenon.
The city had just under 1200 roof tops but only 560 trash customers. Being responsible for the
collection and spending of the public’s money is something I take very serious so I looked into why half
of the citizens that live in the city did not use the city trash service.
What I found was a mess. As people moved to the city, especially the outlaying areas, no one at
city hall monitored who they were using for trash collection. What slowly evolved was a system that
was never controlled or monitored. Several outside trash collection companies had started serving
customers in the McLoud area and over the next several years, without city oversight, continued to
collect trash in violation of the contract that the city had with Allied Waste for the last five years.
It just happened that shortly after I arrived, Allied Waste’s contract was up for renewal on the
five year contract. To be fair, the city invited all of the refuge companies picking up in McLoud and
outside McLoud to bid on the contract. When it was all over, Allied Waste was $20,000 a year cheaper
than the nearest bidder. That was a savings of $100,000 over the life of the 5 year contract. The council
approved the lowest bidder and informed all bidders of the decision.
Several folks thought we should have given the contract to another company because they were
more locally owned and operated. The truth is, they were $100,000 higher on the contract and legally
the council had no choice but to award the lowest bidder the contract. Sometimes if two bids are very
close, choosing the local company, even if higher can be justified, but not $100,000 apart. It would be
irresponsible and illegal to give the contract to anyone else.
Most citizens transferred their service and the losing bidders stopped service within the city
limits. Almost all that is. Several citizens still think they can choose who provides their trash service,
disregarding a legal contract and state and city laws to the contrary. I know many people do not like to
be told what to do, but the truth is we have all been told what to do since day one, and that will
continue until our last day here on earth.
I want to remind everyone that paying for the trash service is the only way some citizens
contribute support to police and fire protection for the community as a whole, not to mention grading
roads and filling pot holes. The city gets no property taxes. Yes shopping locally does help with sales tax
but it is still critical to the operation of those emergency services to use a portion of the fees collected
from trash service as part of the funds to pay police and fire as well as providing vehicles and fuel.
Unfortunately we have had to take a couple of people to court and the judge orders them to use
our trash service, pay all past due monthly service charges and any legal fees associated with the legal
action. Believe me when I say it is cheaper to pay what you are legally obligated to, rather than wait
until you go to court. The truth is the city charges $13 for monthly trash services and most others
charge between $18 to $30 per month and you must pay 3 months in advance. They keep all the money
and none comes to the city for roads, police or fire protection.
If you or someone you know lives inside the city limits and does not use city trash service, I urge
you to call or come by city hall and get it taken care of. We may not find out for awhile but when we do,
all past fees will be collected. Anyone that has not yet signed up for city trash service, we will waive any
past due or late fees if they sign up by March 31st. After that we plan to seek all past due charges.