Megan Darrow, the city’s environmental program manager, and consultant Jeanette Jurgensen briefed the Monroe City Council on Sept. 16 about options for the city’s residential, multifamily and commercial solid‑waste, recycling and organics contract with Republic Services.
Darrow said the presentation was a staff report following prior council direction after a July labor dispute. Jurgensen, a municipal solid‑waste consultant, summarized three principal options: (1) a competitive procurement for a new contract (generally a multi‑year, multi‑step process taking roughly 2½ years to allow bidding and mobilization); (2) negotiate an amendment to the existing contract to add or clarify services; or (3) take no change, allowing the current contract to renew under its existing terms.
Jurgensen cautioned that everything added to a collection contract has a cost and that soliciting a new contract commonly results in significantly higher rates than older contracts reflect. She noted that disposal costs (county tipping fees) and other drivers have increased and that cities that recently ran procurements saw notable increases in resident rates even when incumbents won the new awards.
On timing, Jurgensen said the current contract expires Jan. 1, 2028, and that the city must give three years’ notice to terminate if it intends to procure a new contract; once notice is given the incumbent cannot simply retain the old terms without negotiation. She recommended beginning a procurement about 2½ years before any new contract start date to allow a full procurement and mobilization period.
Council members asked for clarifications on annual rate adjustments: staff said the contract separates a disposal component (linked to county tipping fees) and a service component (tied to a CPI subset), and noted both are drivers of resident costs. Council member Scarborough asked about the allowed annual increase; staff advised the service component rise is indexed (the water/sewer/trash CPI subset) and disposal will follow Snohomish County tipping fees.
Council discussion split on timing. Council member Walker moved to delay further discussion about next steps for roughly a month; Council member Fisher seconded. Council member Gamble said he would not support delay and urged staff to start a competitive procurement without waiting, citing multiple prior service disruptions. Council member Scarborough asked if initiating a procurement requires issuing termination notice this year; staff confirmed that to meet procurement and mobilization timelines a termination notice before year‑end would be necessary.
The council voted on the motion to bring the item back in about a month; the motion passed 5–2. The mayor confirmed the motion carries and staff will prepare follow‑up materials and options for the council meeting scheduled in roughly a month.
Staff also said they would prepare comparative information on what neighboring jurisdictions are doing and what Republic Services has communicated to other municipalities; that information will be provided at the follow‑up meeting. The council reserved a future policy decision about whether to pursue an RFP, amend the current agreement with added performance or contingency provisions, or allow the contract to renew with annual adjustments under its existing terms.