TORRINGTON – The Torrington City Council has approved the first reading of a proposed update to Section 3.04.050 of the Revised Ordinances of the City of Torrington, also known as the Sanitation Fee Ordinance which will increase sanitation fees for all Torrington residents. 

If passed, fees charged by the Sanitation Department for services such as residential trash pick-up, dumpster and roll-off rentals, and landfill tipping fees will increase by 6% on January 1, 2025, followed by another 6% in 2026, and 3% annually thereafter. 

The proposed ordinance also prohibits third-party vendors from providing sanitation services within city limits, allowing the city to set exclusive pricing without pressure from other providers.

Currently, residential trash rates in Torrington are $34.77 and is among the highest tier of trash fees charged for municipal services in Wyoming. A survey of 25 municipal trash fees for 2024 across Wyoming revealed an average residential garbage fee of $28. Scottsbluff, Nebraska residents pay $25.38 for sanitation services. To put the fee in perspective, by 2035 residential trash pick-up fees in Torrington are projected to be just under $50 per month, assuming no additional increases or fees are implemented.

From the city’s perspective, these changes are motivated by concerns that future projects in the sanitation department could deplete its enterprise fund. The enterprise fund is a self-supporting government fund, reliant on fees rather than taxes, and funding cannot be drawn from other parts of the city budget to cover these projects. The largest project planned for the next five years is relocating the baler to the landfill, estimated to cost over $5 million. 

Jeff Harkins, director of public works, states the baler is over 50 years old and costly to maintain, necessitating its replacement. Raising sanitation fees now is a proactive approach to the department’s medium- to long-term cash flow problems. Harkins emphasizes these increases are fees, not taxes, and are unrelated to the 1% sales tax on the general election ballot this year. 

However, some local businesses not convinced that increased fees and eliminating third party vendors is worth the impact it would have on the local economy. Commercial service fees will also be raised under the 6%/6%/3% plan, putting additional pressure on businesses trying to maintain a presence in Goshen County while navigating an unpredictable economic climate. 

Furthermore, the proposed ordinance includes a new provision stating “Other trash collection vendors are NOT allowed to provide any services within the city’s corporate limits, unless the mayor and council declare an emergency need for such services. Anyone providing trash collection services within the City’s corporate limits will be fined $300 for each occurrence. The city is precluded from providing garbage collection services outside of the corporate limits by City Ordinance 13.01.010.” 

Many local businesses rely on private sanitation companies for lower costs, better customer service, and specialized services. 

Clients of TDS and Gorilla Waste Solutions, both Torrington-based companies, anticipate increases of up to 20% in their current costs. They also risk losing access to specialized services like recycling certain materials. Jacob Hatley and Jared Hatley from Gorilla Waste Solutions are primarily concerned with the ambiguous language of the section. 

They do not feel the language is clear regarding who constitutes a “trash collection vendor” or what services are prohibited. If the language states they cannot provide “any service,” does that include services the city does not offer, including demolition or load and haul junk removal? 

During the city council meeting on October 15, the council stated that, as an enterprise fund, the sanitation department needs to “run like a business.” While there is no dispute the sanitation enterprise fund needs to remain solvent, there are questions about what it means to city council to run the sanitation fund like a business. 

Businesses, for instance, focus significant effort on reducing costs to increase profit, but the city is only considering raising prices. Businesses can’t eliminate their competition through a vote or without significant concern for the reasonableness of their pricing or services, but mayor Herb Doby has raised concerns the city can’t compete because “If we were to engage in competition with the private sector we would be underpriced or if we allowed them to compete we could have very valuable men and equipment that we would not be using.” 

The city does not face the same pressure to minimize costs as private companies do, since any overages can be covered by unilaterally increasing fees. In the review of more than 30 ordinances from other Wyoming municipalities, only two had any language reserving more than basic trash pick-up exclusively for the city, and neither was as restrictive as the proposed language. 

City attorney Jim Eddington has stated the current practice of the city providing roll-off containers outside of city limits violates other city ordinances including 13.01.010, but if the city council is willing to use their votes to take away business from local companies, they could just as easily use their votes to eliminate the issue and encourage local enterprise by amending the conflicting ordinances.

Further, while city staff have said generally they have completed their due diligence, businesses often conduct significant market research before making changes to operations. 

As discussed in a recent work session, there was no readily available data regarding how many roll-off containers were currently being rented within city limits, how long they were being rented for, what the demand would be on the city should they be the only provider, whether the city had enough equipment to meet the need, or what the impact would actually be on revenue. Private businesses would also evaluate all options before deciding a course of action. 

In the work session, city staff acknowledged the baler project is years away but there has been no public discussion of alternatives to replacing the baler, such as using additional trash compactors. There has not been public discussion regarding any other revenue method, like issuing a bond with an extended term to lessen the initial impact of the baler project or exploring alternative revenue sources like a mill levy, which would provide equity in the costs. 

Another idea that has come up in the community is to increase landfill fees more steeply than other fees could also help offset the fee increases for city residents, as individuals and companies outside Torrington use the landfill, including the entire trash service for other local towns. City council has not publicly discussed restructuring the fee schedule to weight landfill fees higher. 

Some individuals on social media have even asked whether relocating the baler facility is the right decision. Increased fuel costs for trucks driving to the landfill, compared to a closer collection point with fewer trips, could be a concern. Harkins argues the two semi-trucks currently used to transport bales of trash to the landfill are nearing the end of their life, with mileages between 300,000 and 600,000. He noted replacing one of the semi-trucks was requested in the last budget review. Others argue well-maintained semi-trucks should be able to reach 750,000 miles before the cost of maintenance outpaces the cost of a new vehicle, giving the city time to evaluate all options. 

City staff have stated the two 6% increases are primarily intended for the baler project, and the 3% increases starting in 2027 are merely for inflation adjustments. 

Even that, is problematic, as it does not consider the actual economic forecast for any given year. As inflation is often well below 3% historically, the automatic permanent increase is a hammer when a more precise instrument would be more appropriate. 

A review of more than 30 city codes and ordinances across Wyoming found only one with an automatic annual increase. There has been no suggestion in public meetings that, rather than occurring automatically, rates could be reviewed annually and approved by the City Council before being applied to utility bills.

While the proposed ordinance has consequences for local businesses and for the sanitation department, the most widespread impact will fall on Torrington residents. 

If passed, every resident will face higher utility bills starting January 1, 2025, and they will lose the benefits of competition that a free market provides when additional sanitation services are needed. 

The proposed ordinance will need to be approved after a second and third reading. If it is approved at those readings, it will be voted on by the city council. 

If city council votes to approve, the updated ordinance will go into effect January 1, 2025. 

The next City Council meeting is scheduled for November 5, 2024 at 5:30 p.m., in which, the ordinance will be up for second reading.