After Mayor Keith Gaskin broke two ties during Tuesday night’s Columbus City Council meeting, city residents will pay about $3.45 more a month and get one trash pickup a week with a city-provided bin, effective Sept. 1.
The city voted in June to keep using Golden Triangle Waste Services to collect garbage. But it did not decide then whether citizens would get one or two pickups a week or if the city would provide bins.
The city now pays GTWS $10.50 per household per month for two pickups per week, but then adds on a $7 fee to citizens’ bills to cover landfill fees, recycling and other costs. That deal expires Aug. 30.
Under the new contract approved Tuesday, the city will pay GTWS $13.95 per household per month, meaning customers will see a monthly bill of $20.95.
Before Tuesday, GTWS gave city officials cost estimates that could have seen customer bills spike to as high as $25.45 for two weekly pickups and a bin or as low as $18.95 for one pickup and no bin.
Ward 3 Councilman Rusty Greene moved, with a second from Ward 6 Councilwoman Jacqueline DiCicco, to go with the one pickup a week with a bin.
“(GTWS) said if this didn’t work we could revise this and go to twice a week,” Greene said. “We also have to consider these are extremely heavy trucks, and if we can cut down how much they’re on the streets that’s only going to help our streets last.”
Ward 4 Councilman Pierre Beard had other ideas, and made a substitution motion, with a second from Ward 5 Councilman Stephen Jones, to go with twice a week pickup and a bin, the most expensive option.
“If we go two times, we might get one pickup a week,” Beard said, noting that he was still getting complaints from his constituents about late or missed pickups.
“The majority of people I’ve talked to want to stay with two per week,” Jones added.
That motion deadlocked, with Ward 2 Councilman Joseph Mickens, Beard and Jones voting in favor and Ward 1 Councilwoman Ethel Stewart, Greene and DiCicco voting no. Gaskin voted no, breaking the tie.
Greene’s motion for once a week pickup also deadlocked, with Stewart, Greene and DiCicco voting yes and Mickens, Beard and Jones voting no. Gaskin this time voted in favor.
“We can come back and revisit this again if we need to,” Gaskin said.
GTWS has picked up garbage in Columbus for more than 20 years, but relations with the city became strained after supply chain issues caused frequent interruptions in service. As frustrations mounted, the council voted in January to put out a request for proposals.
Last month the council tabled the proposals to ask for more options for twice-a-week pickup after Jones and Ward 4 Councilman Pierre Beard said they had gotten pushback from constituents on cutting back to once a week.
Brian Jones is the local government reporter for Columbus and Lowndes County.
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