Residents of 10 North Hills communities will pay more for garbage collection under the terms of a new contract through the North Hills Council of Governments.
Waste Management, now the service provider, was the only company to submit a bid, said Wayne Roller, the council's executive director. Allied Waste and Vogel Disposal attended a prebid meeting but did not submit bids.
"There was a good feeling about the rates," Roller said. "We were prepared for anything. Our boost is fairly modest compared to others who have gone out in the last year or so."
To date, elected officials in Bradford Woods, Etna, Hampton, Indiana Township, McCandless, Millvale, O'Hara and Sharpsburg have approved the contract. Ohio Township and Ross officials had not yet voted. Municipalities have until mid-July to vote.
This is the third time the council has bid a joint contract. O'Hara is new to the group for this term, Roller said. O'Hara timed the end of its own contract with Waste Management to coincide with joining the council group, said township Manager Julie Jakubec.
"We felt there were economies of scale. The more folks grouped together, we would achieve better pricing," Jakubec said. "Everything will stay the same; we'll just have expanded recycling for our residents that is available through this bid."
The contract with Waste Management that expires at the end of September carries a base rate of $14.90 per month. Under the new contract, the rate will increase to $16.90 per household from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30, 2009, and then increase to $17.62 per month in the second year.
The base rate in an optional third year could range from $18.37 to $18.76 per month, depending on how many of the municipalities participate, Roller said.
Residents in each of the communities could pay more or less than the base rate, depending on factors such as whether recycling is required or if municipalities handle billing directly, Roller said.
A fuel clause tied to the federal Department of Energy allows the rate to be reviewed every eight months, which would allow the monthly rate to be increased or lowered.
Hampton Council President Victor Son said officials there were anticipating a steeper increase in rates, noting that fuel costs have tripled since the last agreement.
"We were at least pleasantly surprised by the end result, given the fact we don't have any constraints for our residents in terms of what they put out or how much they put out, which our residents have gotten used to," Son said.
A representative of Waste Management did not respond to requests for comment.
The new agreement includes weekly curbside garbage and recycling collection, and monthly yard waste collection.
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