Disabled Could Keep "Free" Trash Service Under New Deal

With just a few weeks left before bids for the city of Creve Coeur's next trash and recycling contract are due to be submitted, there is still considerable discussion taking place over how seniors and those with disabilities will be impacted by the city's move to charge residents who want to use rear-yard service.

Under documents generated for the bidding process and approved again Monday by Creve Coeur city council members, proposals can ask residents to pay up to $15 monthly for that service, which is currently provided at no extra charge. 

Under the next bid, residents with a disability would be able to submit a doctor's note to access rear-yard service at no charge. Council members spent time during a lengthy discussion Monday that included talk about whether people who could claim a disability would, if there should be a discount off the monthly fee based on age, and even if there truly was a need to rebid the contract in the first place.

Ward 3 Councilman Bob Hoffman and Ward 2 Councilwoman Ellen Lawrence reiterated concerns they've heard from constituents who have worried that the elimination of free-to-resident rear yard service could ultimately be a reason that forces people from their homes. Hoffman, a doctor, also noted that it isn't as easy as people may think to get a note from a physician.

Thomas Grote, a city resident who serves on the city's finance committee argued that the bidding process was a solution in search of a problem, considering the high marks trash service has earned in city surveys and the public campaign waged in 2010 for a sales tax that suggested passage was about keeping "trash service free." Funds generated from that increase have in fact flowed into the city's general revenue fund. Among the alternatives Grote offered was to approach the existing contract holder, Republic, and offer 1 percent annual increases in lieu of putting it out to bid, or to make the fee for rear-yard service $8.

Council members ultimately decided to proceed with the bid documents as they were presented. A pre-bid meeting with potential vendors is slated for October 8, with bids unsealed October 17. 

City officials could ultimately decide to stay with Republic for a three-year option under the existing contract.


A previous version of this story incorrectly identified the date for a meeting with potential vendors and has been corrected.