Harrodsburg Still Hasn’t Signed Republic Contract
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Robert Moore
Herald Staff
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The City of Harrodsburg has still not signed a contract with Republic Services.
City Attorney Norrie Currens said the city has still not signed the contract with Republic after concerns were raised about inconsistent information from the company about the 20 percent senior discount.
“We have been forwarding the complaints we’re receiving,” Currens said on Monday. She said the city is refusing to sign the contract until the issues have been resolved.
In April, the Harrodsburg City Commission voted to renew their agreement with Republic Services, with Republic billing customers directly starting July 1. Only two companies bid for the contract, Republic and Rumpke, and Currens said the reason the city commission chose the winning bidder was that Republic offered a 20 percent senior’s discount, while Rumpke offered a 5 percent discount.
Even though the Harrodsburg Herald first reported on the changeover in May and city officials began handing out information at city hall and posting notices on social media, many customers were surprised in July to receive bills for trash collection from the city for the remaining part of the billing cycle and receive a bill from Republic charging them for an entire quarter, from July 1 through Sept. 30.
At a special-called meeting earlier this month, Commissioner Charlie Mattingly said Republic was giving customers different answers, telling some who called that if they had two cans, they would not get the discount.
“That is the issue causing the most confusion,” Currens said Monday.
She said if the city and Republic are unable to come to terms, “We’ll be looking at other alternatives.”
Currens said most citizens have paid the bill. The next bills from Republic will not be issued until September.
“We’ll have to fairly quickly find a solution,” she said, before the next billing cycle.
Some online commentators have suggested not paying Republic and taking garbage to the county transfer station. The county charges a minimum fee of $15.
City ordinance also requires “every residence, commercial enterprise, or other waste producing entity” to “subscribe to the waste collection services” authorized by the city.
At the city commission’s regular meeting on Monday, July 28, Harrodsburg resident Thomas Barlow complained about Republic’s customer service.
“It took me almost two hours on the phone to get those people to realize I was an old person and needed the senior citizen’s discount,” Barlow told the commissioners.
Barlow said he turned Republic into the attorney general’s office, saying they were supposed to have sent out a notice.
Anyone with questions can call Contact Republic Services at 859-263-2000 or 800-262-6565 or republicservices.com/customer-support.
Mercer County is served by two waste collection companies: Republic, the second largest waste management company in the United States, is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Rumpke Waste and Recycling is a family-owned business headquartered near Cincinnati, Ohio. Republic has the franchise for waste disposal and recycling in Harrodsburg while Rumpke has the franchise for Burgin and Mercer County. The franchise agreements preclude other waste disposal companies from operating in the defined locations.
The city commission took no action on Republic Monday.
