Columbia County commissioners voted to send the county's solid-waste collection contract back out for competitive bids after several residents urged the board to seek new proposals and criticized a substantial proposed rate increase.

During public comment, residents said it's standard practice to rebid large county contracts rather than renew at a steep increase. One commenter raised serious allegations about possible improper access to landfill facilities; that commenter was later challenged by others and the meeting became heated.

Waste Pro Florida representatives Dana Williams and Frank Kramer addressed the board and responded directly to the allegations. "I am here to emphatically deny unequivocally the allegations that were just stated about us stealing from this county," Dana Williams said, calling the accusation 'slanderous' and offering to provide documentation disproving claims.

Following the public-comment period and a brief staff exchange, the board voted to proceed with a formal rebid of the county's solid-waste contract; the chair recorded the result as a 3–2 vote in favor of rebidding. The county also noted that an internal referral to outside counsel had been made to investigate the allegation (board comment indicated an outside-counsel referral already occurred).

What happens next: staff will post the solicitation and accept bids per county procurement policy; the board will evaluate proposals and return to the commission with a recommendation.