FORT WAYNE, Ind. (ADAMS) – Fort Wayne is finally, officially cutting ties with its trash hauler, but it will cost the city nearly $2 million dollars to send them packing.
Fort Wayne’s city council approved a $1.9 million dollar ‘transition agreement’ with Red River Waste Solutions.
Fort Wayne has been looking to fire Red River for months because of poor service and missed trash pickups.
The agreement clears the way for Fort Wayne to hire a new trash company later this summer.
The City issued the following ‘Solid Waste Transition Plan’:
Purpose of the Plan
• To provide continuity of solid waste service to the citizens of Fort Wayne
• To begin the transition plan away from Red River to a future provider
• To set a clear end date for Red River solid waste service in Fort Wayne
– June 30, 2022
Summary of the Plan
• This agreement will provide continued solid waste service to residents
• The Insurance Company – ARGO – will be paying $1.6 million to the City
• The City will pay an additional $300,000 for 6 months of continued service
• All current monthly payments to Red River shall continue to be made in arrears
Summary of the Plan
• Subject to below, fines will still be assessed by the City and paid by Red River
• Fines will be withheld from payments to Red River at a rate of $114.33/ton for garbage and $210.00/ton for recycling collected by the City or their agents
• The first $50,000 in fines for March, April, May, & June will be waived
• Long-time, local, solid waste professional with substantial turnaround experience has been hired, at Red River’s expense, to oversee Fort Wayne’s service
Effects of Non-Passage
• Red River ends solid waste operations in Fort Wayne immediately
• Creditors move to liquidate assets – specifically, the Red River trucks are taken from Fort Wayne and sold to pay Red River debts
• City of Fort Wayne DOES NOT have capacity to collect the trash of all 83,300 single-family households
• Contract with new provider cannot be immediately implemented
Final Notes
• City is paying $50,000 per month for a contract extension with Red River until June 30, 2022
• Residents have saved roughly $9.2 million in solid waste expenditures since 2018 – that works out to be $110 per household
• This extension period will put an end to Red River’s service and has allowed Fort Wayne to bid the contract and move forward with a new provider, to be fully operational by July 1, 2022
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