Greensburg property owner on new garbage contract: 'We are stuck with this huge 31% increase'

Some city property owners are questioning Greensburg leaders after they approved a contract with Waste Management that funnels an $80,000- per-year franchise fee into the city’s coffers while increasing garbage rates by almost 32%.

In December, the city approved the five-year contract, which outlined the franchise fee collected from Waste Management, the sole solid waste provider for the municipality, city administrator Kelsye Hantz said. The funds, the total of which was written into the bid specifications, are used to maintain rights of way and road infrastructure.

The contract also raised collection costs from $17.45 per month per household to $23 per month per household. That’s a $5.55 increase, or almost 32%. Rates will increase almost 7% in subsequent years. Waste Management, the city’s previous provider, was the only bidder.

“We property owners have no choice,” said Bonnie Marron, who lives outside the city but owns four rental properties within Greensburg. “We are stuck with this huge 31%-plus increase, and that rate will get higher and higher for the next four years. Feels like the city has its hand in my wallet and takes whatever they want.”

Marron, 66, questioned why the franchise fee was not used to offset additional costs to residents and property owners.

She said she will be forced to pass the increase onto her renters “who are struggling already.”

According to Hantz, using the money to offset the increased collection costs “will require the city to find alternative ways to pay for wear and tear” to infrastructure such as alleyways and parking lots impacted by the weight of garbage trucks. Funds also are used for the city’s paving program.

“We don’t want to assess a tax increase for this,” Hantz said. “It would be unfair for residents who pay property taxes against those who do not, such as nonprofits; all of who use Waste Management’s services.”

Regarding the rate hike, Waste Management in a statement to the Tribune-Review said, “Like most businesses are experiencing, the cost of providing this service has increased exponentially, especially over the past year. ”

The city first implemented the franchise fee in 1981 when the sanitation department stopped collecting trash and Clarence Blackburn General Hauling was awarded a contract to do it. The $36,000 fee was included in the budget ordinance that year. Over the years that number fluctuated, increasing to $80,400 in 1986 and $107,500 in the 1990s, Hantz said.

The fee amount eventually stabilized, remaining at $80,000 since 1991.

Around that time, franchising of commercial waste collection zones with select haulers became popular in bigger cities across the country, Waste Today, an industry magazine, reported. A debate surrounding the practice was recently reignited, however, when New York City and Los Angeles considered implementing similar systems.

Los Angeles City Council in 2016 awarded contracts to seven garbage haulers to exclusively collect trash for about 65,000 accounts, the Los Angeles Times reported. The city collects about $35 million annually in franchise fees from the companies, the newspaper reported at the time.

A few years later, former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio signed a bill into law that overhauls the city’s garbage collection, The New York Times reported. The system, which was expected to take three years to implement, carves the city into 20 commercial waste zones, with three companies working in each zone.

While the franchise fee is seemingly commonplace across the nation, other municipalities in Westmoreland County do not follow a similar layout.

According to Mike Turley, interim manager for North Huntingdon, the township does not collect any fees from Waste Management.

Still, township residents saw a hike in prices after commissioners signed a four-year contract with the company. Residential rates rose to $77.25 per quarter, about $25 higher than previous fees. Rates will continue to rise through 2025 for an automated collection service using a 96-gallon can for trash and a 65-gallon cart for recyclable materials.

Similarly, Murrysville and Penn Township, which contract with Republic Services, do not receive a fee from the company, officials said.

Greensburg’s contract with Waste Management runs through 2026.