Refuse District
What is a refuse district?
A Refuse District is a designated area in which a single refuse collector services all households in the district. The goal of a refuse district is to lower costs to the homeowner and streamline the refuse collection and payment process. The Village would request bids for the district and negotiate a contract on behalf of all the residents. The cost of the service would be added to the property tax bill of each resident in the Refuse District as a “Special District” charge. Residents would no longer receive a monthly bill from the hauler.
Eligibility and Process to form a Refuse District
The formation of a refuse district in a village differs under state municipal law from the process that is used in the town. While the Town has a resident petition process, the Village Board of Trustees has the direct authority to establish a refuse district. Still the Board would rather vet this process with our residents.
If a district were to be established the Board would be required to set up a separate “Refuse District Fund” similar to the Village’s separate Sewer Fund. Due to the compactness and density of the village we are exploring establishing a single refuse district to service the entire village.
Cost to Be in a Refuse District:
The charge for refuse collection can vary year to year. Since the refuse collection service is competitively bid for and awarded to the lowest responsible bidder meeting the bid specifications, cost per household is expected to be lower than the price individual homeowners could obtain on their own.
Before creating any refuse district, the Village will notify all residents of the proposed district of what they would pay.
Option for Special Services: for residents who now pay extra for services such as collection of trash from close to the house rather than curbside, the Village will seek arrangements with the selected hauler to continue such services at the same or substantially similar price. This would be done through bid specifications.
Benefits of a Refuse District:
Even with a municipal administrative fee homeowners will receive potentially significant annual savings. This is due to:
- Competitive bidding
- Lower administration costs for the trash hauler as it only sends one bill to the Village, instead of hundreds. Doesn’t have to pursue late payments.
- No sales tax
Benefits of a Refuse District Continued:
- Rates are set for the entire year.
- Village can negotiate favorable contract renewal options.
- Reduces garbage truck traffic on residential streets to one visit per week resulting in less noise and wear and tear on streets.
- The Village will advocate for residents in the case of complaints that the refuse collector doesn’t resolve.
Additional Considerations regarding a Refuse District:
The Village awards the contract to the lowest responsible bidder therefore a homeowner does not choose a trash hauler.
Some additional services not covered in the Village’s contract with the refuse collector will still need to be negotiated between the homeowner and the refuse collector, most likely for an additional fee to the homeowner.
All homeowners must pay for refuse collection for the entire year – service cannot be stopped and restarted for those who go out of the Village seasonally.
All homeowners in a district must participate once the district is adopted.
Responsibilities of the Village:
- Competitively bids for the service.
- Administers the contract.
- Bills residents for services as part of the annual tax bill
- Addresses complaints that the hauler doesn’t resolve.
Responsibilities of the Refuse Hauler:
- Picks up refuse and recyclables on a weekly basis.
- If notified in advance picks up reasonable amounts of bulky refuse
- Bills the Village for services.
- Notifies the homeowner of necessary information such as hauler’s phone number and collection day.
Responsibilities of the Homeowner:
- Separates recyclables from trash.
- Secures the lids of trash receptacles.
- Calls ahead for bulky pickups.
- Calls the collector first with any problems.
- Calls the Village if problems aren’t appropriately resolved by the collector.