Council approves five-year contract with refuse hauler

At the June 6 meeting, Tecumseh City Council renewed a contract with Allied Waste Republic Services through fiscal years 2017-2021 for solid waste disposal and recycling. Republic Services has offered a five and a half percent reduction on the city’s unit rate for the first year, which is $12.50 per residential unit per month rolled back to $11.90 per unit, with a three percent price increase for the subsequent four years. The company will also transition to a two-day pickup schedule and an increase in recycling collections each week.

City Manager Dan Swallow said Republic Services has offered timeliness, a willingness to address problems and has sponsored events in the local community. “By accepting the extension we retain a reliable service provider,” Swallow said. “Without going to bid we can’t ensure the best price, but we do believe that we are receiving a good price when looking at other communities.”

In other city council news:

• The millage rate to pay for the bond for street repairs for the fiscal year was set at 1.928 mills by council in a unanimous vote. In November 2014 voters approved a millage request from the city in order to fund street repairs throughout Tecumseh.

• Council also voted unanimously to approve the agreement with D & P Communications for telephone and internet services, which currently provides communication lines from city facilities to communication networks. “We’ve been using it for a number of years, and have not had a written contract with them,” Swallow said. “This agreement provides some assurances of our continued business and spells out city responsibilities in writing instead of a verbal contract.”

• Council approved a request from group Clean Water Action to go door-to-door and provide information about initiatives from 4 to 7 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays through June 30. Clean Water Action advocates for removing pollutants from national waterways and more funding for cleaning up water sources.

• A grant support application and a grant application for the Tecumseh Center for the Arts (TCA) seeking a total of $69,000 were approved unanimously by city council in separate votes. The first grant support application was for supporting the TCA’s local artists’ series and the second grant application was for repair of the TCA roof.

• Wage rates for non-union city employees were increased by 1.5 percent for the fiscal year to match what union employees of the city are receiving. Wages and salaries are established through collected bargaining agreements where those wage rates are set by pre-approved contracts. Dan Swallow is the exception to the raise, as his salary will stay at the same level because he hasn’t yet been employed by the city for a full year.