Residents of West Deer will be paying 34% more to have their garbage picked up next year.
The township supervisors voted unanimously to approve a three-year garbage hauling contract with County Hauling of Belle Vernon.
With the new agreement, residents will pay $32.25 per month in 2025, which is an $8.25 increase over the current rate. The rate rises to $36.86 in 2026, which is another 14.3% hike, and then decreases by 3.6% to $35.55 in 2027.
In addition, there are two option years with differing rates which the township can opt to add on. They are $38.22 per month in 2028 and $41.09 in 2029.
Residents currently pay $24 per month for garbage collections by Shank Waste Service of Lower Burrell.
Shank was the only other bidder for the West Deer contract. Its bid was $35 per month for 2025; $36.05 for 2026 and $37.14 for 2027 with option years and rates of $38.63 for 2028 and $40.18 for 2029.
“We reached out to every hauler that services the area, and these are the only two bids we got,” Township Manager Dan Mator said.
West Deer’s experience in bidding this contract is the same virtually all municipalities in the region are going through with few bidders and higher rates.
Supervisor Josh Weigand asked Mator whether the new contract will change the service residents receive now.
“It won’t because the contract is identical,” Mator said.
He said that includes the township’s program for senior citizens through which they can buy stickers to put on individual bags of garbage instead of paying the monthly rate. Mator said the township has done that to give seniors a break because they generally don’t generate much garbage.
The haulers said monthly rates under the contract bids would have been lower by getting rid of the seniors program but the supervisors declined to do that, Mator said.
“The board, as long as I have been here, has always supported that for the seniors,” Mator said.