Dixon council OKs negotiated garbage service contract despite some residents citing a ‘lack of transparency’

DIXON - The Dixon City Council has approved a motion to extend its garbage service contract another five years despite some residents concerned that the contract was negotiated with the company instead of being put out for bid.

The new contract with Republic Services, also known as Allied Waste, extends the city’s previous agreement with the company another five years - now ending on Dec. 31, 2029 - and details the new monthly bill for homeowners increasing by 4% each year.

The city’s relationship with Republic began in 2013 when Republic purchased Affordable Waste, which was the garbage service company contracted by the city at that time. When that contract expired in 2017 the city negotiated a new contract with Republic, which ended in December 2024.

The council in December then approved a motion to extend that agreement until Jan. 31, 2025. The purpose of the extension was to give the city enough time to negotiate a new contract with the company. That contract was brought to the council for approval at its meeting last week. The council unanimously approved the contract.

By state law, the city isn’t obligated to put every contract or project out for open bidding, but Kathy Lane of Dixon said that not doing so kept residents in the dark.

Lane and another Dixon resident, Derek Humphrey, both spoke at Tuesday’s meeting and said their biggest concern was that the city didn’t get any input about the service from its residents.

“I believe transparency is the best thing for the city of Dixon. We have a past of lack of transparency, hence I think it’s best for everyone in this room to actually slow down in this process...and to actually talk to our constituents,” Lane said. “Opening up the bid would be transparent for everybody.”

“This is not the way local government is supposed to be run, with a decision made behind closed doors. That’s what’s most disappointing of all,” Humphrey said.

Councilman Dennis Considine said sometimes the council does not go to bid for a project if the city is already established in doing business with a company at a fair price.

“It took me a long time to understand...that that is still a fair and open, transparent position that we take,” he said.

In this case, the city’s unique relationship with Republic was a major reason why they chose to not go to bid and why they wanted to extend the contract, City Manager Danny Langloss said.

The city receives tipping fees from the Lee County landfill based on “tonnage” - the weight of waste that is disposed in a landfill. After having conversations with Republic, “they began to direct more and more tonnage to that site,” which is increasing those fees and which are a significant revenue source for the city, Langloss said.

Republic also is involved with maintenance at the city’s wastewater treatment plant. The company takes the sludge from the plant and brings in leachate, Langloss said. Basically. they remove the particles filtered out of treated water and then bring in water that needs to be treated.

“These things are really important things for us to consider as we consider the delivery of service, the reliability of service, the responsiveness, and, very importantly, the price,” he said. “It is not lost on us that things have gotten more expensive.”

The cost is $18.50 a month per residential unit through 2025. In 2026, it will increase to $19.24 a month, then to $20.01 in 2027, $20.81 in 2028 and $21.64 in 2029, according to the contract.

The increased cost was also an issue for Lane and Humphrey.

Lane said she spoke to some other residents who are concerned that the price is going up and that they didn’t know about it, she said.

Humphrey, who is also the owner of local garbage service company - Midwest Disposal – said his company received over 150 calls last week about the issue.

Midwest Disposal has contracts with the cities of Rock Falls, Tampico, Milledgeville, Polo and Franklin Grove. It provides service to residents in those cities for $15 a month or lower, he said.

“They [the cost] will be that way. They will not go over $20 a month,” Humphrey said.

Lane and Humphrey were both unhappy with the service provided by Republic. They gave examples in which they alleged the garbage truck was missing stops, not picking up items and leaving cans strewn on the street.

Lane also said that Republic was charging her an $5 extra every month without her knowledge and for seemingly no reason.

“We feel, as a staff, that Republic is delivering an exceptional service. They’ve been highly responsive. We have minimal complaints, and when we do, we’re able to get those taken care of,” Langloss said.

The city was not notified of the 150 calls made to Midwest with complaints about Republic, he said, adding that the city will look into the $5 fee that was being charged to Lane “and get that taken care of right away,” Langloss said.

Langloss pointed out some economic factors, like the 2018 recycling crisis, nationwide supply chain issues due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and inflation beginning in 2021 and continuing into 2025 - as all having some impact on the rising costs.

However, across the industry, the average increases are between 4% and 5%, Langloss said. He noted the city was able to negotiate a contract at the low end of that with a 4% increase per year.

As a regional comparable, Langloss said the city always looks to Sterling, where residents currently pay $19.13 a month.