Bradenton Beach commissioners voted Jan. 20 against a full rate increase for waste services from Waste Pro.
Bob ten Haaf, divisional vice president of Waste Pro, had asked commissioners to allow a change in the service contract with the company.
Waste Pro bases its calculations for service on the consumer price index, a measurement of changes in the retail prices of a constant marketbasket of goods and services. The CPI, issued monthly by the U.S. Labor Department, is computed by comparing the cost of the marketbasket at a fixed time with its cost at subsequent or prior intervals.
“We are respectfully requesting to adjust our rates to reflect the full CPI of 8.72% this year,” ten Haaf said. “Due to the 3.5% cap in place on our current agreement, we are heading down an unsustainable path.”
Ten Haaf said when Waste Pro’s agreement with Bradenton Beach was put into place in 2016, the cap was in line with market conditions, as the CPI had not risen above 5% in 40 years.
According to ten Haaf, that metric is no longer the case in today’s market.
The company has been servicing Bradenton Beach for more than 11 years and the current contract expires in May 2025.
Ten Haaf cited employee and operating expenses, fuel costs and a continued decline in recycling commodity markets as the impetus behind the rate adjustment.
Bradenton Beach residents currently pay $20.03 monthly. Waste Pro’s proposed increase would raise residential waste fees to $21.08 and residential side-door service would increase to $34.16.
Commissioner Jake Spooner responded to the request with concern: “My point of view is we signed this contract to protect our citizens from a big increase in CPI. We put the 3.5% in there specifically for if this situation happened, so that at 8.72% our citizens were protected.”
Spooner motioned to allow a CPI increase of 6.11.
The motion was seconded by Commissioner Jan Vosburgh and passed unanimously.
The Islander, via email, asked ten Haaf how Waste Pro would proceed following the commission vote. As of Jan. 21, there was no response.
Waste Pro also did not respond to a question about its formula for service rates.
… and HB appears amenable to hauler’s rate hike
By Ryan Paice
Islander Reporter
It seems like nothing is immune to economic inflation.
Bob ten Haaf, Waste Pro divisional vice president of Southwest Florida, attended a Jan. 17 Holmes Beach City Commission meeting to request an 8.72% increase for waste collection services.
The increase would exceed the approved 3.5% annual consumer price index adjustment established in ordinance 15-06, which grants Waste Pro an exclusive franchise for waste collection in the city.
The city passed the ordinance in April 2015 and later contracted Waste Pro to provide waste collection services for up to 10 years, ending in June 2025.
Ten Haaf wrote in a Dec. 8 letter to Mayor Judy Titsworth that the requested 5.22% increase in service price over the 3.5% annual CPI adjustment was “due to the continued rising costs of labor and equipment to continue to provide the superior level of service that is enjoyed by the city.”
With the increased rates, the new monthly residential waste collection rate would increase from $20.03 to $21.08, while the new monthly residential side-door collection rate would be $34.16 to $35.94.
Ten Haaf’s letter states that commercial waste collection rates will be “reflective of the increased percentages” but “actual prices will vary depending on container size and frequency.”
“We’re simply asking for help,” ten Haaf told commissioners. “We hope our commitment to service will be recognized by the city.”
“Your request is, I think, in line with what we know is going on in the economy at this time and the difficulties many companies are facing,” Commission Chair Carol Soustek said. “So I see no problem with the rate change.”
Commissioner Pat Morton, the commission’s liaison to Waste Pro, praised the contractor’s work and expressed support for the requested rate hike.
City commissioners reached consensus to move the rate increase forward with a resolution approving the rate hike set to go before them for consideration Tuesday, Jan. 24.