Sheridan has moved to a single trash company to reduce wear and tear on its roads and lower fees for residents, though not all residents are happy about the change.
The city made the move in June to use only Republic Services for its trash services to prevent further wear and tear on its ailing roads from several trash trucks driving up and down the streets throughout the week. Sheridan Mayor Dallas Hall said there were seven licensed trash companies picking up trash on city streets.
“It just looked bad to have trash out there constantly,” Hall said.
Hall said the wear on roads was the primary consideration in the council’s vote. The council had been talking about the issue for years but moved ahead with the request for proposals last year.
“Sheridan has gone through rough financial times in which it’s had its share of deferring capital maintenance, and it starts to show on your streets and your sidewalks,” said city manager Devin Granbery. “So for the city, this was one piece of an overall larger strategy to look at what we can do to protect our infrastructure.”
Previously, Sheridan residents contracted with a trash company individually. Now the city bills residents for pick-up, though the city makes no money from the contract. Some residents continue to use their previous trash company but must still pay their trash bill from the city whether or not they use the new company.
Granbery said the move was also done to realize savings for some residents who were seeing annual rate increases of 10-30 percent with the various companies. That’s why the city has locked in a five-year contract with Republic Services resulting in static rates for the first two years. After that, the company can only raise the rate 3 percent each year. Residents can choose from paying $6 a month for a 32-gallon trash can, $14 for a 64-gallon can and $19 for a 96-gallon can. Single-stream recycling is included free of charge.
Granbery said he has heard some positive feedback from people who are saving as much as $100 a year, but also from people like Sheridan Councilwoman Bonnie Parker, who voted against the change earlier this year.
“It was dictatorship,” Parker said. “They did not take it to the vote of the people. … They took our choices away from us and the citizens.”
She said some of her constituents are also complaining. She said she is one of many residents who were happy with her previous trash service, Waste Management, which picked up extra trash on the street, something Republic does not do.
“A lot of us didn’t have (individual) trash service — we were sharing it with neighbors,” Parker said.
Parker said people shouldn’t be forced to pay for a service they don’t want.
Parker’s sister, Patsy Dickinson, has already gone back to using Waste Management.
“The other trucks are still coming, so what good did it do?” Parker said. “It’s just bureaucratic red tape that you’re gonna do this whether you want to or not.”
Clayton Woullard: 303-954-2953, cwoullard@denverpost.com or twitter.com/yhclayton