Elyria Council votes overwhelmingly to keep Sanitation Department

ELYRIA — City Council voted resoundingly Monday to keep Elyria's sanitation pickup services in-house. Council voted 10-1 during a Strategic Planning Committee meeting to maintain city refuse pickup services through the Elyria Sanitation Department, despite a recommendation from an outside study to further explore privatization. Only Council President Vic Stewart, D-at Large, voted against the measure. At the start of the meeting, Adam Letera of Rea Business Advisors presented the findings of a study update the company performed on the finances of the Sanitation Department. The study found that Elyria should carefully consider all of its options, including privatizing its sanitation services. It said that should the city choose not to privatize, it should consider raising sanitation charges by 5 percent for at least the next three years and reevaluate to determine future rates after that point. Members of the community, Sanitation Department employees and most members of Council have argued against privatization, saying that the level of service residents currently receive could not be matched by a private sanitation company. "Our Sanitation Department is the gold standard, they are truly that good," said Councilman Phil Tollett, D-at Large. "On top of that, we are elected representatives of the people, and the people have overwhelmingly demonstrated and said that they want us to keep our Sanitation Department. The proposed rate increases are extremely reasonable, and I am looking forward not only to keeping (the department), but working to make it more efficient and cost effective." Tollett pointed to discussions that Council has had about adjusting recycling services and improved vehicle maintenance through the city's planned Central Maintenance Facility as possible future cost savings. In conjunction with the study, an update of a sanitation study previously done in 2018, Safety Service Director Chris Pyanowski also sought bids from private sanitation providers to determine what they would charge the city for their services. The companies submitting bids were Republic Services, Rumpke Waste and Recycling and the Kimble Company, all of which proposed prices well below the $33.38 Elyria residents without a Homestead Exemption currently pay per month. "When you look at how much we spend now, and how much we'll spend after three years of increases, versus how much other communities in this area pay, I think it's just an obvious cost savings we could've had for the residents," Stewart said. "Obviously it wasn't a popular decision, but sometimes as an elected official you have to make unpopular decisions to protect the finances of the city." Tollett proposed during the meeting Monday that the topic of sanitation rate increases be referred to the Finance Committee, which he serves as chairman of, for further discussion on what increases to implement and how they would impact both residents and the department. Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.