Business & Tech

City Leaders Oust Long-Time Garbage Service

Republic Services, who have worked for the city for more than 20 years, was replaced at Monday's city council meeting.

Snellville city leaders ended its long-time business relationship with its solid waste contractor of more than 20 years, during Monday's city council meeting.

Republic Services, a national solid waste collection company with businesses in 40 states and Puerto Rico, lost the bid to Waste Pro, a smaller company with service throughout the South. The contract is for five years.

City leaders said it was a difficult decision. The vote was split 4-2, in favor of Waste Pro.

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"Sitting in this position here trying to make a decision that would satisfy citizens that are going to benefit from this service has been very difficult," said councilman Mike Sabbagh. "I am hopeful that Waste Pro will provide an utmost service to the city of Snellville and provide the necessary response and feedback when required."

For Waste Pro proponents, the decision came down to which company -- among four that submitted bids -- was the least expensive.

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"The bottom line is any way you look at it," said Mayor Jerry Oberholtzer, "Waste Pro will save the citizens, taxpayers of the city, money."

Bids based on the city's current calculations of waste services, including a 20 percent mark-up in fees to the city were:

Waste Pro: $362,012 a month

Advanced Diposal: $391,325 a month

Waste Management: $399,400 a month

Republic Services: $401,052 a month

When bids are tabulated without the 20 percent mark-up, data from the city manager indicates that Waste Pro was still the lowest calculation. The month costs for each bidder were estimated at: Waste Pro, $145,655; Advanced Disposal, $147,697; Waste Management, $147,824; and Republic Services, $148,015.

"It's been extremely hard to get the information and digest it," said councilman Tod Warner. "The first thing I look at when we're looking to put a contract out is safety, then service and then cost."

A slight difference of roughly $2,400 between Waste Pro and Republic -- when the 20 percent mark-up is excluded -- was not enough of a difference to decide against the city's long-time service provider, Warner said.

In addition, the city's that were used for data collection and comparisons were smaller that Snellville, in the case of Waste Pro, Warner added.

"I don't think they're true comparisons to the city of Snellville," he said. "We expect the transition between service providers to go seamlessly, and I'm not sure that going with Waste Pro will give us that service that we demand."

Mayor Pro Tem Barbara Bender, who voted for the Waste Pro contract, said it was also a difficult decision for her, considering the time and service that Republic Services has put into Snellville. A representative from the company said during the meeting that it had worked with the city for 20 years.

"It's a vital service" she said. "The service it touches absolutely everybody that's involved in the city. It touches every single resident; it touches every single business.

"It a decision that has to be made very carefully and with a lot of consideration."

Turning to Waste Pro representatives, Bender told the company it had "big shoes to fill."


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