The City of Monroe stands at a crucial decision point regarding its garbage and trash collection services. It’s considering privatizing, franchising or outsourcing the service to a private company.
In a series of community meetings last week the city posted verbal information that didn’t always jive with its written plans.
Despite reassuring residents that costs for garbage collection would not change without City Council approval, the actual request for proposals (RFP) tells a different story—allowing automatic price increases tied to the Consumer Price Index for the South, which typically rises 3-5% annually.
If a private vendor is approved, annual increases will happen without a vote or even discussion with city, according to the RFP.
This discrepancy between what officials have told residents and what’s written in the RFP raises serious concerns about transparency. Furthermore, while city officials promised that 14 full-time sanitation employees could either work for the private vendor or be relocated to other departments, the RFP makes no guarantee of these positions. Instead, it promises to try to hire all workers full time with benefits, and allows continued use of day laborers with city approval, potentially undermining stable, full-time employment opportunities.
The new system would also impose stricter requirements on residents—trash not in green cans must meet city specifications, with leaves bagged, branches cut to precise lengths, and items like old furniture potentially left behind with only a tag explaining why. These changes would effectively mean residents paying more over time while receiving less service.
We’ve been down this road before. Monroe once owned its light and gas companies, selling both with promises of savings that never materialized. Instead, costs increased. The city still owns its water system and controls garbage collection—essential services that should remain under public control.
While officials point to a $1.2 million annual deficit in sanitation operations and aging equipment as justifications for privatization, the projected $200,000 in annual savings would still leave the city with a $1 million deficit. This modest reduction hardly justifies surrendering control of a critical public service.
Instead of hastily privatizing, franchising or outsourcing, we think the council should amend its budget to properly fund the Public Works Department, just as it does for police, fire, and water services.
Exploring options like improved fleet management, more efficient routing, and potentially introducing recycling programs to reduce landfill costs would better serve our community’s long-term interests.
Since privatization won’t eliminate our budget deficit, let’s instead invest in making our existing public system work better. Monroe residents deserve reliable service that doesn’t leave them paying more while getting less.
