“I think it is important to note that the contract we’re operating now under Rumpke was an extension of a contract that was signed in 2015, so really we’re operating on 2015 prices from Rumpke,” said Adam Helms, Hamilton director of Resident Services. “The new cost of the proposed contract over the old cost is a 46% increase.”
The city advertised in August and September for bids for the new contract, and Rumpke was the only service provider to offer a bid, Helms said. Our current contract with Rumpke expires at the end of this year. The new contract would begin on Jan. 1 and go through 2029 and is just shy of $26.5 million. Hamilton had paid just more than $18 million for each of the past two five-year contracts.
Because of this contract, the city would have to increase its monthly rates, and most will increase every year over the life of the contract. And there are different rates for different customers. Low income residential customers, for which there are 38 accounts, will pay $19.75 a month and this rate will remain unchanged through 2029.
However, the 21,700-plus residential customers will start out at $24.78 a month and will see gradual increases in subsequent years.
“The biggest drivers behind the proposed rate increases are inflation and the relatively large increase from Rumpke on the new contract,” said Helms.
There are three classifications for commercial customers with varying rates based on the frequency of trash collection, though most will have one collection per week.
Fairfield and Liberty townships have higher refuse collection rates than Hamilton in the region, but are not far off most other communities.
The city will continue to have the Transfer Station Voucher Program for residents, which very few take advantage of, Helms said. This program allows residential customers to go to the transfer station to drop a residential vehicle load of refuse once a year. This requires a utility bill or a driver’s license for proof of an account, but only 150 customers a month take advantage of this program.
“If every customer here in the city did that, it would be a $484,000 value,” Helms said.
Additionally, the new contract will phase out the Hamilton-branded blue trash carts in favor of the brown Rumpke-branded carts. This will save the city about $80,000 a year as Rumpke would replace any broken, lost, missing or stolen carts. Trash carts will only be replaced on an as-needed basis.
Fairfield and Liberty townships have higher refuse collection rates in the region than what’s proposed for Hamilton, but the community is not far off the rates of most other area communities.
A public hearing on the new Rumpke contract is scheduled City Council’s next meeting on Wednesday.
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