The Monroe City Council on Sept. 23 authorized the mayor to convey a counteroffer to Republic Services to resolve potential claims, credits and litigation tied to a July 2025 labor disruption that caused roughly two weeks of missed residential collections. The motion, made by Councilmember Gamble and seconded by Councilmember Hanford, passed 7-0.

The issue came before the council after Republic Services offered a service credit to residential customers for two weeks of missed pickup and agreed to reimburse the cost of a community collection event held July 19. Wendy Weicker, a Republic Services representative, apologized to Monroe residents during public comment and said the company is ready to provide credits once the council approves the proposal. “We are waiting to provide those credits until we have council approval to do so,” Weicker said.

City staff summarized the disruption and the company response. City presenter Megan Doro told the council that Republic’s July sympathy strike led to missed pickups and that the mayor had requested documentation of the company’s customer communications and a proposal for credits. Doro said Republic offered a service credit based on two weeks of missed collections and a reimbursement for the community collection event; she said the council could act on the offer that night.

Several council members described the disruption as more than an inconvenience. Councilmember Hanford said neighborhoods experienced garbage blown into yards, rodent activity and additional hauling costs. “We had to pay at the dump and haul our own garbage,” Hanford said. Councilmembers Fisher and Gamble described residents hiring neighbors with trucks or paying small fees to have trash removed during the outage; Fisher said some residents paid people who charged $5–$20 to haul waste.

Councilmembers also criticized Republic Services’ communications. Councilmember Beaumont said the city and residents were not kept adequately informed and that messages appeared on other channels such as social media without direct coordination with city staff. Several members said the company’s response letter and offered credits did not cover the full cost and disruption experienced by residents and by city staff, who fielded calls and performed extra administrative and communications work.

Councilmember Gamble moved — and Hanford seconded — a motion “that the city council authorize the mayor to convey a counteroffer to Republic Services to resolve all potential claims, credits, and or litigation out of the July 2025 labor disruption event up to the amount and subject to the parameters recommended of an executive session.” The motion passed 7-0. The exact dollar amount and the executive-session parameters were not disclosed in the public record.

Mayor and staff said they will draft a letter and counteroffer that more closely reflects the city’s estimated costs and impacts, including administrative, communications and legal work incurred by the city and out‑of‑pocket costs residents reported. The council also noted Republic’s offer to reimburse the July 19 collection event and the proposed residential service credits, but concluded the initial proposal did not cover the full scope of community impacts.

The council’s action authorizes the mayor to negotiate and present a counteroffer to Republic Services; staff will prepare documentation of city costs and damages to support that counteroffer. No settlement amount was announced at the meeting.