The Leon County Commission voted 7-0 to award the exclusive franchise to provide waste collection services in unincorporated Leon County to Waste Pro of Florida, Inc., and to authorize the county administrator to execute the franchise agreement, subject to legal review by the County Attorney.
The option adopted provides a residential rate of $23.17 and a franchise fee of 3%.
The County’s current contract for waste services expires on September 30 2023. In January 2023, three responsive bids were received, with Waste Pro being the lowest bidder. For over a decade, Waste Pro has been under contract with Leon County for waste collection services.
Under the new contract, residential and commercial rates will increase. However, according to staff, the $23.17 residential rate bid by Waste Pro remains slightly below average when compared to rates charged around the state. Approximately 400 commercial customers will see an increase between 58%-116%, depending on the size of their waste container.
Leon County rates have been disproportionally low with customers paying $15.03 — 75% less than other representative counties in Florida.
Leon County currently receives a 5% franchise fee from the solid waste contractor. Based on the accepted bid and a 3% franchise fee, the County will receive an extra $185,000 annually and will use those funds to mitigate rate increases to commercial customers.
As directed by the Board, the county administrator negotiated with Waste Pro concerning its proposed rates. The negotiations were predicated upon the existing scope of service. As the result, four options were presented to the Board for consideration.
The staff indicates that they will work to ensure a smooth transition under the new franchise agreement which requires Waste Pro to transition with minimal impact to customers. Although Waste Pro is the current provider, it is required to submit a detailed transition plan which commences on October 1, 2023.
Leon County Commission Approves New Rates for Waste Collection Services added by Tristyn Leigh on
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I guess the County Administrator’s salary of $351,000 per year has to be paid!!!
Why would you increase a fee for a compa y that sends out calls weekly to say, Hey we missed you today but, will pick up tomorrow and constantly receive complaints from residents. Leon county commissioners do your job and work for the people not against them.
I have a hard time believing that the county will increase the residential rate so they could help the commercial properties. Unbelievable I live in a mobile home park l and The yard debris is never picked up unless you call – as of Wednesday it has been three weeks since my yard debris has been picked up I called and they put me on the list but I haven’t seen a pick up yet.
Now new question. – do I get credit on my bill for missed collection?
Regardless of any justification of residential rate adjustments RESIDENTS SHOULD NEVER carry the burden of commercial service. That is just wrong on so many levels. Those responsible for making these decisions should be negotiating for the ALL residential and commercial customers.. YOU effectively have chosen to negotiate “for the bidder” and against your residents and constituents. A 54% increase to residents so “The County ” can reduce the cost of commercial service to commercial business’s is not negotiating. It is the county imposing another tax to residents on top of the “actual” residential bid by the vendor and passing the income to the commercial companies who support the elected officials.
it is no wonder why people continue to believe that officials are negotiating contracts for personal and political gain. Especially when you put your intentions in writing to the public.
This is really bad decision Leon county Commissioners
Unanimous approval makes it an easy choice on Election Day.
Waste Pro has performed so poorly under past contracts it has been fined by the Leon County Commission numerous times. Allowing this rate increase to Waste Pro is like awarding bad behavior in a child. We the voters of Leon County now have to bear the cost for this behavior. Just who is being punished?
Great. Shock to the wallet. This is going to cause new problems for neighborhoods in leon county. People who cannot afford this new rate will just ditch the service and dispose of trash without the garbage cans. There are some in our neighborhood now that just throw out there trash by the road. We have a racoon problem now due to the abundance of trash on our street. Waste Pro will not come pick it up either. They suggest calling code enforcement. Which will only make matters worse. I dont wanna get anyone in trouble . I expect this to increase in other areas.
Hidden tax on the county
As a government purchasing agent/supervisor for over 30 years, here’s the real problem with services contracts. It does not matter if a new contractor or incumbent is selected for a new contract, that contractor will hire or keep the same employees. It only makes sense to keep experienced workers. The problem is twofold: 1. Proper supervision of the employees by the contractor, and 2. Proper contract compliance by the assigned government contractor manager. Bottom line, keep calling waste pro if you are not getting satisfaction, but only if Waste Pro is not in compliance with their terms of the contract.
@David — except for a few years when my neighborhood was annexed into the city I’ve lived outside the city limits. I have to admit that I was happy when Waste Pro replaced Waste Management, as the running joke in my neighborhood was that Waste Management had missed their delivery that week. The service was so bad that just driving down the street and seeing all of the scattered garbage on the curb and front lawns told you it was garbage pickup day. Waste Pro was a lot better until COVID came around. Their issues appear to be mostly staffing today. You can make more money for about the same labor doing other things.
“Leon County rates have been disproportionally low with customers paying $15.03 — 75% less than other representative counties in Florida.” How does what other representative counties matter to what our county pays? We should care what we pay not what others pay. I’m sure every county has unique needs and abilities to handle solid waste. So, now we will pay more just becuase others pay more? Maybe we do a better job of recycling, limiting bulk pickups, reducing waste. Residential customers should never be subsidizing commerical customers.
Waste pro is Scott maddox mafia
@ A Skeptic = Every 5 out of 6 WEEKS, I get a Recording at about 7:00pm from WastePro telling me that a section in my area did not get picked up today but will tomorrow. Last couple Weeks it was My Section. This is 5 out of 6 Weeks.
SCAM!!! FRAUD!!!! KICKBACKS!!!!!
Hoping a reputable company would have come in and set things right and taken on the rank and file to protect them and also reward them for their hard work. The graft continues…
@David — that was my first reaction, too. The county is picking winners and losers by having residential customers overpay to mitigate the cost to businesses.
I also have to wonder about a 54% rate increase when Waste Pro has trouble meeting their current obligations. It seems like every month a neighborhood doesn’t get picked up on schedule. Was that addressed or has it become the new normal?
So, Leon the County will receive an extra $185,000 annually and THEN will use those funds to mitigate the rate increases to commercial customers? Hmmm, OKAAAY.