PLATTE CITY PONDERING USING OUTSIDE CONTRACTOR FOR REFUSE PICKUP
The City of Platte City is interested in taking the first step toward contracting for solid waste collection services.
That’s the indication after a solid waste workshop with citizen input was held last week at City Hall.
Up to now, trash service for residents has always been a city-only function, with no private contracting.
A first step as a result as an indication from the mayor and aldermen has been to draft a resolution directing the city administrator to develop and issue a request for proposals for solid waste services.
The city’s public works committee was set to hold discussion on that possible resolution at a committee meeting Tuesday night of this week. The committee will decide whether to forward that resolution onto the full board of aldermen for consideration.
As earlier reported in The Landmark, city staff have tested new trash equipment, including a side-loading trash truck that was eventually deemed incompatible with about 60 percent of city streets due to space constraints on streets. A rear-loader was also set to be tested.
City officials have indicated a new trash truck could cost the city around $260,000.
Platte City currently collects solid waste from its residents for a monthly fee, using three vehicles and three employees.
“The trash truck has an older vehicle for a backup, but the recycling truck does not. If any of the three employees who collect solid waste are off work, a different public works employee has to be pulled off their normal duties to fill in,” says Bryan Richison, city administrator.
During 2025, both the main trash truck and the recycling truck have required repair. Richison said public works is working to determine how many days the recycling truck has been out of operation, but at a minimum it is several months.
To date, $68,394 has been spent repairing the solid waste vehicles, which far exceeds the $25,000 budget, Richison said this week.
“If the city contracts for service, there will be ongoing costs that the budget will need to absorb. Currently, one of the three staff positions assigned to collect solid waste is vacant and can be eliminate. There are also four staff positions that have 10 percent of their pay assigned to the solid waste fund. This leaves $181,013 in personnel expenses to be absorbed,” the city administrator says.
Richison explained that the solid waste collection staff often help out with other public works tasks, some of which he described as critical, such as snow plowing.
“Keeping two of the three solid waste staff is important for the operation of the public works department,” Richison remarked.
The city administrator went on to say that to help further reduce personnel costs that are retained, a part-time public works position can also be eliminated.
Richison says there is an estimated $37,5000 in operating costs that will also remain. These are costs such as utilities, uniforms and computer systems support.
Richison suggests to help offset these costs, the city can charge a $3 per month administrative fee in addition to the selected trash contractor’s monthly fee.
“This will generate $64,800 per year,” he wrote in a staff report.
“Based on these estimates, the net effect if the city contracts for trash service is that $126,213 in annual costs will need to be absorbed,” Richison said.
Richison said those costs can be spread across the general fund, water fund and wastewater fund, depending on the duties of the two staff positions in public works that will be kept.
