11/20/1996 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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COUNCIL MINUTES NOVEMBER 20, 1996 Ilene Courtur stated her questions were not answered. Mr. Ahrens read a question about property tax impact and if taxes will go down. He explained the City does not tax for road improvements so the taxes will not go down. Also, the Charter states that general tax dollars cannot be used for road repairs. Ms. Courtur stated her question was that the Ace flyer did not influence her decision to attend the meeting or opinion about the issue. She stated she does not want her choice limited, unless a bid is let which will provide for competition. Ms. Courtur stated right now she can change haulers whenever she chooses and believes an organized system does limit her choice. She reviewed the other types of trucks that use the City's streets and noted there has not been a study about road impact but it sounds like the City is blaming garbage trucks. Ms. Constant explained the Committee looked at all garbage routes, as provided by the haulers. Ms. Constant read a question asking haulers if they would open their books to verify their costs to assure a closed system is more competitive. Ms. Carlson, BFI, stated if it is an organized collection system then the price is a public price. She stated there is a difference between cost and price, price being what the person pays for service. Ms. Carlson stated they would probably not allow residents to look at costs but they are more visible and evident in some hauling scenarios. However with price, it can be easily compared since residents know what each hauler charges and with an organized collection system that number can be obtained. She explained there are many different levels of service in the marketplace and suggested residents look at service to service to determine what the price is. Mr. Fredrickson explained that Ace is in a couple of cities by contract and in those two cities, they are set up to consider the consumer price index which is a figure used to know how much inflation has affected everyone. He stated that in those markets they can request the consumer price index (3% to 4% per year) every year and get it. However in Lino Lakes it is not possible to pass that price on because of competition. He stated that he will figure out a way to keep from passing those costs on because of competition. Ms. Constant asked if haulers currently drop customer rates when the tip fees or waste disposal fees are reduced. Mr. Fredrickson asked if when the cost for a barrel of oil drops, the consumer ever sees it. He noted that hauler's price of service includes costs for personnel, insurance, diesel fuel, and tires and they have reduced rates when those costs go down. Ms. Constant explained that residents need to understand that there are disposal issues going on and when disposal rates drop there is currently no impact to the resident. • Mr. Fredrickson stated there are also contracts that have never dropped disposal fees. He suggested that residents call to ask about the fee for various service levels. PAGN 9