Frequent sanitation equipment failures could force Starkville aldermen to once again broach a residential rate increase after the board failed to raise monthly charges by $1.50 on Feb. 17.
The city’s commercial fleet, comprised of three trucks, was recently reduced to one operating vehicle as maintenance-based attrition continues to hamper sanitation efforts.
Officials are still working to secure an emergency rental agreement for a similar piece of equipment, but Mayor Parker Wiseman said Starkville’s inability to find sustainable revenue for upkeep and replacements poses “a substantial threat to our ability to ensure basic operations and services function as expected.”
In their first year in office, aldermen raised monthly residential rates from $13 to $14.50. A failed attempt last month backed by Ward 3 Alderman David Little, Ward 4 Alderman Jason Walker and Ward 5 Alderman Scott Maynard would have increased the price to $17 per month, a figure Maynard, who chairs the budget committee, said would place Starkville in line with comparable municipalities based on the services it offers.
Starkville provides twice-a-week residential collection, a recycling pick up once every two weeks and once-a-week rubbish services. The city also spends at least $150,000 disbursing free garbage bags to its residents. Taylor Adams, the city’s CAO and financial director, said Starkville spends approximately $1.9 million on residential, commercial and recycling pickup. He estimated recycling makes up $80,000-$90,000 of that line item.
Together, Starkville Sanitation and Environmental Services covers more than 10,000 locations, but not all are serviced with curbside pick ups.
An exact breakdown of the department’s customer base was unavailable at press time as calls to SSES Director Emma Gandy went unreturned this and last week.
Starkville fees lower on average
Maynard compared other cities’ services and rates during the February meeting. A chart he produced showed Starkville’s monthly rate was $3.21 cheaper than the average rate of seven cities — Columbus, West Point, Louisville, Winona, Tupelo, Holly Springs and Laurel — even though some of the cities offer fewer services and less-frequent collections.
Columbus
Comparatively, Columbus contracts out residential collections to the Golden Triangle Waste Services, which services approximately 5,000 locations, including apartments. Its residents pay a $17 monthly fee.
Garbage pick ups occur twice a week, Columbus CAO David Armstrong said, while the city itself utilizes two boom trucks for once-a-week rubbish collection. Columbus does not distribute free garbage bags or directly run a recycling program, but Armstrong said Waste Pro provides a number of bins in the community for recycling drop-offs.
In all, the city’s total solid waste budget line item is $1.35 million for this fiscal year.
West Point
About 4,000 residential and commercial units are serviced by West Point’s sanitation department, said Randy Jones, the city’s CAO, and residents pay a $15.50 monthly fee.
Residential collections occur once a week, and there is a separate rubbish pick up day. Like Starkville, West Point provides free garbage bags to its residents and curbside recycling for customers who ask for the service.
In all, Jones said recycling costs about $18,000 per fiscal year, while garbage bag disbursals run about $60,000 annually.
West Point’s sanitation department is budgeted at $519,355 for the current fiscal year, he said.
‘We’re giving away the house’
“(Starkville is) the lowest (compared to) any city around us. Look at Louisville — it’s $25 per month, and they only pick up one time per week,” Maynard said in February’s meeting. “We’re giving away the house, so to speak. We’re giving away bags and picking up their rubbish, which a lot of those cities don’t do, and we’re doing it cheaper than anybody. I think we need to get a little more competitive with the rates.”
The failed rate increase would have generated an additional $70,000-$100,000, Wiseman said, that would have been put toward two commercial trucks and a new street sweeper. An additional $50,000-$60,000 would have assisted Gandy’s department in purchasing garbage bags for its free disbursal program.
The city previously made a nine-month purchase for bags at about $140,000.
Street sweeping falling behind
Starkville has two street sweepers, but only one is dependable, officials previously said. That one unit is shared between sanitation and the street department.
“Sweeping is important not only for aesthetic reasons, but also for the city’s drainage system. (Streets) have to be swept or leaves can cause blockages,” he said.
Services versus cuts
Vice Mayor Roy A. Perkins led the charge against Maynard’s motion to increase rates in February, noting the group’s previous $1.50 increase and saying the board’s actions continue to burden residents with “tax-and-spend” measures.
Maynard countered, saying residents demand services.
Maynard’s motion to increase rates effective Aug. 1 failed 4-3. He, Little and Walker supported the matter.
To provide funding for equipment costs, Perkins suggested cutting its sanitation budget. He targeted the city’s recycling program, saying “that’s what’s pushing the budget.”
Maynard then motioned to do away with the city’s free garbage bag distribution program so the sanitation department could reach its financial needs, but his proposal was defeated by Ward 1 Alderman Ben Carver, Ward 2 Alderman Lisa Wynn, Ward 7 Alderman Henry Vaughn and Perkins — the same bloc that defeated the proposed rate increase.
Before the vote, Wiseman reminded aldermen that additional revenue must be found to extend the nine-month garbage bag purchase to a full year.
“While we have several departments that certainly have pressing equipment needs, I don’t think there is any department that has its operation so threatened as sanitation,” he added. “Our commercial services are suffering. We have a local competitor in the market, too. When we suffer, we lose customers and revenue.”
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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