Dale commission talks trash cost

The last garbage pickup rate increase in Dale County was nearly two decades ago.

The year 2011 was when the county garbage pickup rate changed from $12 per can each month to $14 per can each month.

The rates charged to customers and the cost of the garbage pickup service to the county was a topic of discussion at the Dale County Commission meeting May 19.

At the April 28 meeting, Dale County Commission Chairman Mark Blankenship told commissioners that he would present figures to show the cost associated with the solid waste pickup.

A new contract with Mark Dunning Industries for garbage collection in Dale County was awarded at the Dale County Commission meeting Oct. 8, 2019.

MDI’s bid of $12.50 per container was the low bid. The other bidders were Arrow from Abbeville for a bid price of $12.95 per container and Amwaste from Mobile with a bid price of $12.71 per container.

Mark Dunning Industries has been the garbage pickup provider for Dale County since the county decided to privatize the contract in 2013.

MDI first began distributing the 95-gallon rollout garbage carts in Dale County in December 2014 and began weekly household garbage pickup services in February 2014 to those in the Dale County Solid Waste service area to include the city of Level Plains and the town of Clayhatchee. The city of Daleville has a separate garbage pickup service provider.

The MDI contract was rebid after Blankenship told commissioners April 23, 2019 that MDI had asked to renegotiate the contract they have held with the county since December 2013.

With MDI requesting material changes in the original contract, it was required by law that the contract be rebid.

After the contract was re-awarded to MDI, Blankenship said that he would compile the cost versus expense numbers under the updated contract after it was in effect several months and then present them to the commission.

At the May 19 meeting, Blankenship said that the county charges each customer $14 a month for the first can and $10 a month if they have a second can. Currently, full monthly collection for the 5,890 cans is $84,590.

Blankenship said that about 10 percent of the can-holders fail to pay their bill and 228 customers have Social Security exemption from payment.

The county has a contract with the Wiregrass Rehabilitation Service for roadside trash pickup at a cost of $126,000. “I am reluctant to reduce the roadside pickup,” Blankenship said. “It’s one of the most popular things we’ve done.”

At the current rate, it will take about seven years for the garbage fund to be depleted, Blankenship said.

Blankenship said that a survey of monthly garbage rates in the area showed that Ozark charges $20, Ariton charges $15, Daleville charges $16, Henry County charges $15, Abbeville charges $20, Coffee County charges $16 and Barbour County charges $29 a month.

Blankenship recommended a rate increase to $17 per can for the first can and $13 for each customer’s second can.

With $113,063 budgeted for office operations in the 2019-2020 budget, the rate increase would leave $48,677 in the garbage fund.

No action was taken by the commissioners.

The next meeting of the Dale County Commission is Tuesday, June 9, in the Dale County Government Building. A work session begins at 10 a.m. and is followed immediately by a voting meeting. Both meetings are open to the public.