Commission approves solid waste rate increases effective January 2025

Minutes after the four members of the new Franklin County Commission each took their oaths of office at their November 13th meeting, they were faced with their first difficult decision—whether to approve an increase in residential and commercial fees for Franklin County Solid Waste Services.

Talk about a brief honeymoon…

Commissioners unanimously approved new monthly solid waste fees recommended by Franklin County Solid Waste Manager Gene Ward. The fee increases were necessitated by a significant increase in the per ton fee Franklin County pays for municipal solid waste transport and disposal.

The county’s old contract with Hillsboro-based Republic Services Morris Farm Landfill ended September 30, 2024. That contract included a per ton fee of $30.48 to haul and dispose of municipal solid waste picked up at the transfer station at the Franklin County Landfill.

The county let bids for a new contract and Republic Services Morris Farms was the only bidder, but at a new contract rate of $53.60/ton, almost twice the amount of the old fee.

The outgoing Franklin County Commission approved that bid and contract but voted to table consideration of any rate increase, instead passing that decision to the new commission of Michael Murray, Greg Hovater, Tracie Clark and Joseph Baldwin.

The budget for the Franklin County Solid Waste Department for FY2024-25 was approved with the increased solid waste disposal fee built in, but with no accompanying rate increase. Additionally, Solid Waste Department employees did not receive the hourly raise approved for all other Franklin County full-time employees.

The new fees will take effect with January 2025 billing statements. The increased fees mark the first increase Franklin County residents have seen in monthly garbage rates since 2005.

New rates are as follows:

—Residential Services: $25/month.

—Extra Can: $15/month.

—Late Fees: $5 assessed after the 15th of each month.

—Secondary Dwelling: $150/year.

—Dumpsters: $40 additional fee per dumpster.

—Landfill Residential: $65/ton.

—Landfill Inert: $30/ton.

Additionally, free residential drop-offs at the landfill will no longer be allowed after December 31, 2024.

Baldwin told the FFP commissioners plan to revisit the raise for Solid Waste Department employees as soon as doing so will be economically feasible in the budget. That raise, though, will not be retroactive to October 1, 2024, the date other county employees saw their raises take effect.

In other agenda items at the November 13th meeting, the commission:

—approved a bid of $485,000 from Hovater Metal Works for construction of the Franklin County Animal Control Facility, to be built behind the Franklin County Jail on land already owned by Franklin County. That company is owned by Commissioner Greg Hovater, but Hovater abstained from the vote and took no role in the opening of bids. Additionally, County Attorney Evan Hargett said he researched whether a county commissioner’s business could bid on a county job and Hargett cited two Alabama Code sections that he said allow it to be done. Alabama Code 11-3-5 allows for a company associated with a commissioner to be a party to a contract with the county if the contract is competitively bid and the commissioner takes no role in the bid preparation or review and doesn’t vote on acceptance of the bid.

Hovater Metal Works’ bid was more than $200,000 less than the next lowest of the four bids the country received.

—approved Commissioner Baldwin to be Chairman Pro Temp in the absence of Franklin County Probate Judge Barry Moore.

—approved Christmas Eve and Christmas Day as county holidays.

—accepted the low interest bid of 3.95% from Community Spirit Bank for a five-year financing of $488,870, to be used to purchase two dump trucks for the Franklin County Highway Department.

—accepted the retirement of Roger Grissom, Roadway Maintenance Technician, effective December 1, 2024.

—approved designating a 2018 and 2019 Ford Explorer as surplus property in the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office.

—approved a proclamation designating November 20-27, 2024, as Farm-City Week in Franklin County.