Because of price increases in the Town of Sumrall’s current contract with WastePro, town residents will see a slight rate hike on their garbage bills beginning with the next billing cycle.
The town entered into a five-year contract with WastePro in July 2018, and although that contract rate was initially $15 per month, the contract does allow rate adjustments in line with the Consumer Price Index. Because of that, next month garbage bills will be $17.50 a month, up from the $16 that has been charged for approximately the past year.
“We really don’t have a choice,” Mayor Joel Lofton said. “We were signed into a five-year contract, and there’s no breach in contract, but it’s written in that (WastePro) would be allowed to adjust, and that’s simply what they’ve done.
“They’re following the terms of the contract the previous administration signed.”
Lofton said the increases, in part, are the result of the price of recent inflation, including higher rates at the gas pumps.
“Expenses have gone up, and I hate that we have to pay more for a service,” he said. “But I can tell you, I have to pay more to get up and go to work every day.
“So I understand it, and it is within the contract for them to do that. Of course, we’d love to lower rates instead of raising them, but that’s just not something that is possible at the moment.”
In early January, after receiving several complaints from residents regarding the quality of garbage service, Sumrall officials began to review the town’s contract with WastePro to find a solution to that problem. In some instances, the service had run behind more than a day in some neighborhoods.
In addition, in some instances not all the garbage had been collected from certain areas, or otherwise spilled back on the ground. Those problems were mainly caused by circumstances out of WastePro’s control, such as employee absences because of illness.
Because those issues had become so regular, however, officials had explored the option of contracting with another provider, including Lamar County.
But shortly thereafter, residents and officials began to see improvements in those areas.
“We had a real good week; we did not have any complaints called in,” Lofton said in mid-January. “We saw our regular driver – she was in the truck running it, so I think that made a huge difference in their ability to complete the route in their normal time.
“Hopefully, that’s the start of a return to normal and the good service that we’ve experienced in the past.”
So far, those improvements have continued to stay constant.
“Things have improved; communication has really improved,” Lofton said. “We’re working with WastePro now. When we do find that there’s an issue with a certain address, we’re posting notice to that resident – and to some businesses – to let them know what the issues are.
“The contract spells out the amount of garbage that individuals and businesses may put out, and it spells out how it needs to go. It must be bagged, must be in a container. But some days, individuals or businesses may not live up to their end of the deal, and if it causes a disruption in their service, we want them to understand why. Most times, it’s nothing purposeful; it was just one of those days where somebody was just in a rush to get things out and may not have gotten it into a container.”
