By Sara Beth Williams–
The Citrus Heights City Council voted 3 to 2 last week to recommend the city move forward with renewing a 10-year contract with Allied Waste Services of North America, LLC, known as Republic Services, the current waste hauler for Citrus Heights.
Customer rates and other details will be finalized as part of the contract package and will be subject to a public hearing and approval process prior to the start of the new agreement term, Mary Poole, operations manager for the Citrus Heights General Services Department, said Wednesday night.
In a statement on Friday, the city said Republic Services had estimated the contract value of the residential garbage and recycling collection services contract with Republic Services for the current 10-year term, from 2017 to 2027, is $81,858,950, as of November 2025.
The city has not confirmed any estimates for the total value of the proposed new contract, but Councilman Tim Schaefer has estimated the new contract value to be at least $140 million, according to his own calculations and assumptions.
Following the Feb. 25 meeting, where City Council members discussed several items in the proposed contract, the city provided more updates on the proposed contract in the agenda packet.
According to the city, Republic Services has proposed the following for its next 10-year term contract:
- A total one-time rate increase of 6 percent stemming from an initial one-time 2.5 percent market adjustment, and a 3.5 percent adjustment effective Jan. 1, 2028 (equivalent to the current contract Consumer Price Index [CPI] Water Sewer Trash cap).
- Ongoing adjustments would also include an annual CPI cap of 4.25 percent based on the CPI-Water-Sewer-Trash index, with a one-year rollover provision. If the combined index is lower, the lower index applies.
- Other service adjustments that would not increase the cost, include one annual local household hazardous waste drop-off event, a skid steer for community compost distribution and related activities, a utility truck for illegal dumping response and increased annual illegal dumping tonnage.
City Council members supported four amendments that city staff requested direction on regarding services in the negotiated contract, including adding street sweeping into the contract, changing some aspects of the Neighborhood Cleanup program, and shifting to tri-monthly billing instead of bi-monthly billing.
Adding street sweeping will cost customers an extra $1.19 and save the city almost $13,800 compared to the current street sweeping provider costs of $393,000. The council voted 4 to 1 to add street sweeping to the new contract, with councilmember Jayna Karpinski-Costa voting no. The current street sweeping contract ends Dec. 31, 2027.
Republic Services also presented different optional changes for the Neighborhood Cleanup Program in an effort to help reduce overall costs and address blight and safety concerns. The City Council unanimously supported reducing the number of neighborhood cleanup days from three per year to two per year, which will save customers 77 cents, creating an offset total increase of only 42 cents when combined with the addition of street sweeping.
The council did not support reducing the total allowed cubic yardage from 10 to five and asked that the Neighborhood Cleanup program continue to allow customers to put out up to 10 cubic yards.
Republic Services also proposed other cost-neutral services during negotiations, including website interface improvements, a dedicated customer service manager, SB 1383 compliance monitoring enhancements, and an alternative collection vehicle program to begin within 18 to 24 months.
At the Nov. 12 City Council meeting, the city showed interest in seeking alternative innovation options, particularly involving reducing heavy burdens from collection trucks on street infrastructure.
During the 60-day negotiations, the city reported that Republic Services has plans to evaluate and implement alternative fleet pilot program options within 18 to 24 months of contract renewal. The city said Republic Services has had “several discussions with original equipment manufacturers regarding Citrus Heights’ desire to reduce truck impacts to roadways” and is partnering with manufacturers to develop a steerable rear-axle pilot program.
The development of the pilot program is estimated to take 4 to 6 months, and building the truck could take an additional 12 to 18 months. The pilot program will be cost neutral for the trial period, the city said, but added that any proposal to transition to a new vehicle type following a trial program would first be presented before City Council for consideration.
Following discussion from Wednesday night, the total estimated cost to customers for one 64-gallon trash can beginning in 2028 would range from $37.51 to $38.71.
Currently, Citrus Heights maintains the lowest cost for garbage collection services, according to a chart shared by the city comparing costs from other jurisdictions throughout Sacramento County. The chart shows that only Citrus Heights and Elk Grove waste collection services charge less than $40 per month.
In the City of Roseville, which wasn’t listed in the city’s chart, monthly waste collection services for a single-family home using a 95-gallon trash can increased from $36.05 to $37.13 in July 2025, and another increase is planned for July 2026 that would raise the rate to $38.24.
Schaefer, along with Mayor MariJane Lopez-Taff, voted against renewing the contract and favored issuing a Request for Proposal instead, with Schaefer saying that not issuing an RFP was “unethical.”
In its statement sent Friday, the city said it does not currently have an estimate of total revenues collected but explained that the residential solid waste contract projections are based on an estimated 26,500 residential accounts and assume a conservative Consumer Price Index (CPI) adjustment of 3 percent. The contract cap is set to 3.5 percent.
