Editorial: Find new trash hauler
Source: Palm Beach Post, Monday, January 30, 2006
Gas and even materials and labor may cost more, but Port St. Lucie City Council members were correct to reject a trash hauler's bid to raise rates by up to 83 percent. Last week, the council nixed Waste Management's bid to renew its contract for five years and asked other garbage haulers to submit bids for picking up trash, tree limbs and recyclables. Council members praised Waste Management's work. But they said that the firm's planned increase in monthly rates from $14.86 to $24.95 or $27.20, depending on how the fees are collected, is just too much for residents to pay. Mayor Bob Minsky was the only dissenter; he wanted to keep Waste Management, even though he once was its toughest critic. The firm's improved service under a strict city contract, he said, and has helped keep the city clean.