The City of Peoria is considering whether to extend its contract with the Peoria Disposal Company.
The City’s contract with PDC expires at the end of the year, but it specifies the municipality needs to decide by Friday whether to extend the agreement for another three years.
The Peoria City Council Monday unanimously approved extending that window for another 60 days.
City Manager Patrick Urich says talks with PDC are ongoing, and they are exploring additional service options. But he says it’s going to be more difficult to create service level options for vacant properties, and those who don’t generate much waste, because garbage bills are now on the property tax role.
“Because it’s on the property tax bill it’s designed to cover the cost of the service," Urich said. "65 percent of the cost of the service is those trucks driving down the streets and alleys of Peoria every day.”
Urich says the city is able to keep the cost lower for residents because it bundles the service.
The city is also planning to hold public meetings on the matter over the next 60 days. The city-wide waste hauling contract is Peoria’s largest annual expense costing about 6 million dollars.