Good evening, everyone, and welcome to the Eloy City Council work session.

Today is Monday, February 24th.

The time is approximately five thirty PM.

At this time, I would like to turn this work session over to Brian.

And by the way, welcome guests.

Good evening, Mr.

Mayor.

That's right.

Here.

Here.

Here.

Here.

Present.

Here.

There we go.

Okay.

Good evening, Mr.

Mayor, members of the council, uh, public.

Um tonight um what I'm gonna do is just kind of briefly go over um the rates uh or the the bid comparison if what was presented uh the the can the two bids that uh were qualified, what what they were, how they compared to our current uh current bids, our current rate hauler.

So what we'll do is I'm gonna go over a couple things.

I'm gonna go over uh I have two spreadsheets just to show the comparisons of what the the bids look like.

Um and then I have uh another uh sheet that kind of wraps it up of local actually within the municipalities of Pennell County.

So um just to kind of go over the sanitation rates, the the bids that were received, the city received two qualifying bids, one from waste management, the other one from universal waste.

On the information presented in front of you, the yellow highlighted um sections include uh show the waste management bid, which was the the the lowest bid uh the two received that were successful.

And then in the last two columns, it would be what the rate would be proposed from this uh the hauling fee increase to customers, and then just the variance on the the last column.

So, you know, a lot of um just to kind of go through this we're gonna look at the w the residential currently the resident uh hauler, the current hauler, the trash for residents is fifteen eighty-eight.

That's what the the fee is.

Uh waste management, the proposal came in at twenty dollars and nineteen cents.

So that was roughly it's about a four dollar and thirty-one centre on the hauling charge for residential customers.

So when you look at this information, um we are also combining what the what we call is our landfill assessment fee.

It's more the operational fee that's consistent on all the residential, so there's no increase on that.

We're just focusing strictly on the hauling uh fee tonight.

So for customers it would be about a four dollar and thirty-one cent increase based upon the current rates that we have for hauling charges compared to what was came in as as a bid.

So for customers it would be about a $4.31 cent increase based upon the current rates that we have for hauling charges compared to what was came in as the bid um when we look at uh city going down to city city facilities these are our any any cans that the city has two yards four yards six eight these charges are very minuscule they're not there's really no charge increases on those from what is being charged currently to the city versus what universal or waste management would be charging.

Once we get into commercial facilities these are business these are for businesses out there same thing for once a week pickup this is what this is for once week pickup there is actually going to be no charge pass along to the the customer based upon what they're being billed now to what was the bid but once we jump into twice a week that price changes a little bit these changes for commercial haulers for twice a week will range anywhere from 34 and for the two yard are going up to about 26 a month for commercial and that's for twice a week pickup.

And when we get down into roll off services raw services these are when more of the larger scale customers they have a lot more traffic they either get a 10 down to a 40 yard roll off currently we don't have a 10 12 or 15 but waste management did provide bids on those we don't offer them those would be a new service if that's the case to the customer but the ones we do which are the 20 and 40 yards they'll go up anywhere from you know 36 dollars 56 dollars a month for the roll off business so when it comes down to the comparisons between the two bids that um that the city received from waste management and universal waste they um with waste management that's what was our comparison because they were the the two qualified load bit low bidders on that um so when these is these are like I said comparing the current bill what a customer gets to taking the uh new bid from waste management and adding the same variance between landfill into that because we're not looking at landfill operations right now on that so when we're looking at it strictly right at residents it would be based upon the bid would be four dollars and thirty one cents a month is there any questions on that some of that information just on strictly when we're looking at the bids and comparison comparing what was bid and what our current garbage hauler um our contract is being um charged to the city Brian do you have any feel for how many um commercial customers we have with roll off service I want to say I think there's roughly around about a hundred and fifty six a hundred and six uh commercial customers around around that area I think I can't just off the top of my head all with roll offs uh no on roll offs those vary um roll off services we have I want to say about 2530 in in there it depends on a monthly basis but uh strictly what we're it's coming from our utility billing that we bill on a monthly basis it's around the um from the counts we have about a hundred and forty to a hundred and fifty commercial customers and then overall I can I can let you know it in our last billing because on our on our bill which everyone sees uh how our bill break goes up we have it says garbage 20 and 67 cents and the other charges from it says rad which is the um the fee that's been passed along for the consumer or the fuel charge those two charges um on the bill when we look up the red fuel adjustment fee last month it was four thousand three hundred and sixty five customers that received that bill on the that that amount on their bills so for the uh a fuel adjustment fee and that's residential and commercial on it when residential people I'm not affected by water sewer but to the residential rest residential customers get uh trash pickup along with the water and sewer bill or they separate uh outside of ropes and ranch yes uh everybody gets in one bill so an increase here of four dollars or something plus the increases in water and sewers probably gonna be fifteen dollars a month um currently the this would be this $4.31 cents is roughly it's when it comes to percentage I'm gonna use that too is about 23% increase over the current bill so this $4.31 cents I think with the five percent that we just had to implement for water and wastewater we're looking at I think it was I can get that information a little

Um currently the this would be this four dollar and thirty-one cents is roughly it's when it comes to percentage.

I'm gonna use that too, is about 23% increase over the current bill.

So this four dollars and thirty-one cents, I think with the five percent that we just had to implement for water and wastewater, we're looking at I think it was I can get that information a little better, but I think it would be roughly around seven dollars more month.

So around ten, eleven dollars.

Well, no, seven dollars total between the yes, because the last bill, the sewer, if it went up five percent, I think it was thirty-eight and it went to 40, so it was like two dollars, and I think on the water side with a base fee, it was used to be 19 something, and it went up maybe a dollar, so you're you're roughly maybe seven dollars.

If this was included, right now somebody would see about a seven seven and a half dollar increase.

That's what the customer will see.

They'll see the bill, they'll see the total.

That's why that's where I was coming from.

Okay.

Um, just a question on the last line of the second page.

So that 40 yard.

Um so we only charge 215, but it used to cost 250.

Is that correct?

Well, right now, because what it is is RAD is charging us 250.

So when the city came on our consolidated rate and fee schedule back last back in April, um we put on the consolidated rate and fee schedule 215.

We didn't account for their five percent or their increase, and so what we passed on our consolidate and fee schedule when we were pulling this data, we noticed that we are not charging the appropriate amount, so we would have to make we need to make adjustments on that when it comes to the 40 40 yard yard roll off.

So on our consolidated rate and fee schedule, that's what uh um is on our rate and fee schedule.

But RAD is charging us um right now $50250.

So we'd be going to upwards of $270.

It would uh in right now the when uh waste management would charge $240, and then we would have a for our um our the same consistent markup that is right here for the 2687, that would be the for the landfill that'd make it go up to the 271 87.

So back kind of piggybacking on Dan's question.

Um he's asked how many customers use the roll off.

You said about 150 ish, like how many are doing that amount, that 40 yard, like how many people are gonna be like, whoa, it's going from 215 to 270.

Out the top of my head, I we I uh the 150 was all commercial um billing for the rates, which would have been the two-yarder, four-yarder, six-yarder.

I think we have anywhere from twenty to thirty people customers that are in the twenty to fourty yard category, but it's a very small number, probably less than one percent of our overall customer base would might receive those.

These are a lot of your the prisons, a lot of the the major businesses that have a lot of trash, they get them, they get them compacted, they get them picked up based upon the the usage on it.

So these are the the bigger businesses with a lot of trash.

This isn't just our normal businesses that um are doing daily circle Ks or anything like that.

They circle K might just have a six-yarder that's picked up twice a week.

So these are I I know that uh like sentence.

That makes sense.

The prisons have those questions.

The these are uh the bids that came in as to rate, but along with the bid, is there any kind of contract that says we will abide to customer complaints or customer satisfaction?

Is there anything in the bid that also says that the company would be accountable to the city to the people that they're serving?

Mr.

Mayor Councilmember Galindo, yes, we do have that, and we'll address that in the six o'clock session tonight.

Brian, um in regards to that um difference that the city was absolutely absorbing, right?

That difference the 215 to the cost that we were actually being charged by rad.

Um what were those customers aware of that?

Or in this case, if we do accept you know waste management's um uh contract, will they be advised that previously they were getting a discount or yeah?

So based upon um Mr.

Mayor, Customer Vasca.

So if these this contract is approved, we'd be going back and we would actually um if the contract's approved with waste management, the process is we have to do a 60-day public notice.

So we have to inform customers rates and changes would be changing.

Then that has to then after you pass a resolution with the new rates on that it go to effect almost 90 days from the time the count the council passed the resolution during that time we do public after each tell the customers that you know rates are changing and everything of that nature.

So we would be informing the the commercial roll-off customers of the rate change, indicating the new rates based upon if they did come in question, hey, this is going up quite a bit, we would let them know that yes, it is going up, but based upon our previous audit, you've been actually undercharged on it.

And so moving forward, if you want to stay with us and do roll-offs, this would be the new charge.

The one thing commercial customers have if they didn't like the rates that we provide, they're allowed to go anywhere they want to get uh service on it.

So, you know, the rates that are in my opinion that when they bid in, they're actually getting a better value than they would probably by going out strictly to waste management for a 40-yard roll-off in those rates.

So most likely a lot of times the customers stay with the city on that, even though it goes up based upon that.

That's what we've even experienced here in the last you know, 15 to 20 years.

Any other questions from council?

And then I'll just uh like to show council just uh this is a locality rate comparison.

It was in your packet.

This is just uh kind of to show council what some of our neighboring cities.

So as you see here, this is what the cur the right now current resident pays 20.73 cents.

If we with the moving forward to waste management, it would go up the four that four dollars and thirty-one cents to 3040, thirty thirty dollars and four cents.

Florence, yes, Florence is at 1908.

Castle Grand's at 2315, and Coolidge is at 24.

However, on each of these, every comparison is a little different.

You know, Florence, they they are with uh Florence and Coolidge are with right-of-way disposal.

They do have once a week pickup and recycling.

So they have a comparison to what we have currently.

However, Florence, they don't have a landfill.

They don't have a transfer station that they're operating.

So their rate is strictly just for the garbage loan.

Coolidge, their rate does fund a transfer station that they have they have managed, and also to pay towards it because they had a the landfill, you have to pay for the the monitoring of it.

So there are costs built into their rates for the monitoring aspect of it.

When it comes to Casa Grand, they're the big boy of the group, you know, they they they run their own sanitation.

They'll they're they pick up the trash themselves, commercial and residential, um, but they're 23.15 cents.

And talking to Casa Grand, they uh a lot of their rates, especially on residential commercial subsidizes their residential rates.

So they they have that in there.

So that is what they've done.

They subsidize the commercial to help reduce the cost of the residents.

But when you have 63,000, you know, populations spread out, it's a little different than our current population.

And that 18,000, remember, includes our prisons.

So we're it's more like the 11.5 mark.

But uh this kind of goes through to just to show you what the comparances are when it comes to once-a-week pickup, you know, how we're different.

Coolidge doesn't do any billing for commercial.

That's all up to the hauler.

They go right to the hauler or whoever they want, they don't do the billing on that.

They only bill for residential.

Twice a week, it shows the comparisons.

We would still be a little higher, but again, we have a landfill that we have to, you know, that are built into our rates.

That's where it's a little different on it.

And then when it gets down to roll-offs, the only one that does it is Casa Grand Coolidge or Florence and Coolidge, they don't mess with roll-offs.

It's all them going straight to the haulers on it.

So you'll see that the comparisons are there, but the the biggest comparison, and there are some footnote section to give you a little more idea on this to help you understand and gravitate to how we're looking at it and what's built into those rates.

So hopefully this was a good uh informational tool for you when comparing rates to other communities, but uh but when it's looking at our residential uh usage, you know, yes, it is a little higher, but you know, we do have that landfill component that is in our rate structure that really uh localities I'm gonna use Florence and Coolidge, they don't have to mess with that this time.

Does Casa Grant have a landfill?

They do, and uh they do fund their um sanitation through their their rates or their landfill through the rates.

It it used to be where the general fund used to support them, but they've they've raised the rates and and changed their building structure and the to move away from any general fund support.

Some of these um commercial rates, it's a big difference to other communities, and it actually has been in the past as well.

Do you think that that's uh deterrent at all for larger businesses to come to Eloy?

I I don't for myself uh mayor and councilman curse, I don't think so because I think a lot of the stuff on businesses, you know, they build that into their model on it.

I mean, really I was talking to one of our my staff members, they live out there just outside in the county, and they have Arizona City Sanitation that they get their bill from, and they're charged a two-yarder and they pay 112 a month.

That's the the private side.

So when I look at you know the two-yarder is 69, that's almost half the price of what just a citizen is that lives just outside the city limits in the county.

That that's just my my observation on it.

I mean, I can't speak for the business.

I don't think we've ever done a informational about how it affects a business.

Also did away with recycling, you did not they did they cast a strictly twice week pickup, no recycling where Florence and Coolidge they follow the that same model as what our current did.

And we'd used to the city used to have uh just twice a week back in 2015.

I've uh become very knowledgeable again on our rates on that.

So again, council, do you have anything?

Sorry, one final question.

Um, so in Coolidge for the commercial, it says not applicable.

They do Coolidge people have to go straight to uh you know a different hauler on their own, not through the city.

Yeah, and talking to the finance uh Mayor Sutton and Councilman Curtis and talking to Coolidge's finance director, the any commercial business, they go pick who they want.

If it's waste management, if it's uh republic, if it's right-away, they pick whoever they would like.

They they don't do the billing on it, they don't do any of the um anything to do with commercial trash on it, only the residential, and they only worry about that because uh they still have to do the landfill monitoring that because of the landfill that they had, they just monitor it.

It's not an operation, they just have a transfer station that they have somebody out there monitoring, and that's their only expense when it comes to that.

Brian, would there be an opportunity there?

Uh through the commercial if we would uh uh I'm not sure how competitive uh these rates are with the other haulers for commercial.

I just wonder, even though the city you're doing this, uh if there's any advantage or any possible uh opportunity for the city to get more commercial activity to help uh defray the cost of landfill.

I just wonder, even though the city you're doing this, uh if there's any advantage or any possible uh opportunity for the city to get more commercial activity to help after uh defray the cost of landfill uh uh miss mayor customer Snyder, if I understood your question right, could we you go to like another city to to grab them or wouldn't or no the even like the Coolidge model and not not?

No, I'm thinking that do if we look at the opportunity maybe to use uh a new hauler and we actually uh promote commercial activity through the city as opposed to uh city business now going out on their own.

Is there a possible business model there where we could offer some advantages for some of our businesses and actually build a business model to do that to get more uh commercial business?

That's that's where I'm at, just within the link.

Yeah.

And I think uh Mr.

Mayor and Councilman, I think the when we if which if we choose it right away and we have to give our public notices, you put it out in social media and hopefully those businesses that switched off from us years and years ago that if we have a a better um cheaper rate than what they have and it it's a better service than what they have, they can come to us at any time because they have a utility bill.

So all the businesses in town.

Um I know one business they switched because they didn't uh like the process we went through in the past, but we could save them money, but it's up to that business if they would like to um go with this new management company versus the old one.

But we would do like I said, to our you know, we'd put it out there to customers, and you know, it's just that word of mouth, hey, we are switching.

Maybe they would like that opportunity because it's a different hauler.

And it's right at uh six o'clock mayor for I got told I got told by the uh did well.

Yeah, I got told by I was looking for a red light hitting me in the face.

But again, I didn't I didn't know where it was going.

I thank you.

All right, thank you.

That's it.

So I'm gonna close this work session right now.

Does anybody want to go take a five minute before we start?