The county will soon pay 29 cents more for customers’ garbage pickup each month.

Arrow Disposal Services Inc.’s contract calls for a consumer price index adjustment and after more than a year on the job in Lincoln County, they gave a written request to supervisors.

County Administrator David Fields read the letter from ADSI Monday at the Board of Supervisors meeting. The increase will cause the county’s garbage bill to jump slightly from $10.35 for each household to $10.64.

“That’s always been the situation with whoever we’ve had,” he said.

However, Arrow did not ask for anything additional for fuel, Fields said.

“Normally, the fuel prices go way out of line. They have an adjustment they can make for fuel, but it was zero this time,” he said.

District 5 Supervisor Doug Falvey asked about adding rolling garbage carts to the contract.

Fields suggested supervisors consider a price increase to begin in October 2020. WastePro, the former contractor, was charging $9.44 per household, but when Arrow took over there was not an increase in residents’ garbage bills.

During the next garbage price discussion, supervisors can weigh the pros and cons of adding carts to the contract.

“That’s a new fiscal year so that might be something to think about,” Fields said.

Several supervisors have reported to Fields that garbage customers complain about not having carts like customers on city routes, he said. The city and the county each chose Arrow for its garbage contracts, however the service terms and cost is different between the rural pickups and pickups within the municipality.

District 3 Supervisor Nolan Williamson said he’s only had two calls about carts.

“I told them it was going to cost them more and they said to forget it so I ain’t  got none out there,” he said.

“That’s just something I know that’s being questioned, so if we’re going to do it October 2020 would be the time to roll that in through that,” Field said.

Falvey favors adding carts to the contract.

“It would make it a whole lot more convenient and easier for the garbage people to pick it up if it was in cans,” he said. “Their trucks are equipped to unload it. I think it would keep a lot of trash off the roads, too, if we had garbage in cans rather than bags sitting out beside the road.”

Williamson said he likely wouldn’t support it. District 1 Supervisor Jerry Wilson, board president, said he knows several people in his area who want the carts.

No decision was made about adding carts to the contract. Supervisors will likely discuss it during budget talks over the summer.

The board awarded a three-year contract for trash pickup to the Alabama-based ADSI in July 2018. ADSI replaced WastePro in October that year. At that time, ADSI’s contract price for the county was $10.35 per pickup at the county’s 9,119 trash-producing households, but no carts. The company’s price with carts was $11.50 per household, and supervisors were unwilling to consider an approximately $1 raise in citizens’ garbage bills to offset the costs. The board said in July 2018 it might consider amending the contract to include 95-gallon carts after one year.