MERIDIAN —     Starting October 1, the streets of Meridian will be lined with 96-gallon garbage bins.

       Meridian City Council members hope that means they will not be lined with stray bits of trash, but the change comes at a higher cost than some expected.

    The council voted 3-2 Thursday night to switch from twice a week garbage pick-up from personally owned containers to once a week pick-up using the bins, which will be issued by Waste Management. Recycling pick-up will also be reduced, from once a week to once every other week, but the size of the company issued recycling bins will remain the same.

    Though Waste Management, who currently handles the city's garbage, was awarded the contract, they were not the lowest bidder. Waste Management will perform the once a week pick-up service, along with once a week bulky trash pick-up and the recycling pick-up, for $9.57 per household per month. Southern Waste Company would have performed the same services for $8.88 per household per month.

    The Waste Management contract will cost the city more than $100,000 more per year than the Southern Waste contract.

    The $12 garbage fee charged to households will not change as a result of the new contract, but ad valorem taxes charged to cover sanitation costs could be reduced. The Waste Management contract will have a savings of $3.48 per household per month over the current current contract for twice weekly pick-up. The same contract with Southern Waste would have had a savings of $4.17 per household per month.

    Council members Jesse E. Palmer, Sr. (Ward 4), Mary A.B. Perry (Ward 2), and Bobby R. Smith (Ward 5) said they voted to go with Waste Management because the company has a better track record with the city, and because they have previously picked up extra trash without any extra charge. They said Southern Waste did not perform well in previous short term contracts with the city.

    But Council members Dr. George Thomas (Ward 1) and Barbara Henson (Ward 3), who voted against the contract with Waste Management, and Mayor Cheri Barry all said economic times are too tough to be picky.

    Barry said choosing a more expensive contract could have serious repercussions during a time when the city's sales tax revenue is continually falling. "We will have to do another reduction in force (layoffs) and possibly furlough again if we don't get this budget under control," Barry urged the council just before they cast their vote in favor of Waste Management. "We will have to go up on ad valorem taxes."

    "We're looking to save money," said Henson. "(Choosing Southern Waste) is one way we can do it."

    Perry said proper sanitation is too important to skimp on. "How much are we saving the citizens when they don't have their yards clean and they don't have their streets clean," she said, later adding, "It's only 68 cents more (per household per month)."

    Perry also said she was concerned about sanitation workers losing their jobs, but Thomas took issue with that concern.

    "We're looking out for the city of Meridian," said Thomas. "It's not our job to help private companies employ people. We try to when we can, but we could use that million dollars (in eventual savings) to hire police officers."

    "I have no problem with Waste Management," he added, "but numbers are the numbers are the numbers. In a time when we are struggling. . .to come up here and spend an extra million or so dollars, when that million or so dollars could go toward the fire, the police, or the parks, we're cheating the taxpayers out of money."

    Thomas also expressed concern over the reduction in recycling pick-up. That reduction was made at the recommendation of a committee headed by Solid Waste Manager Odell Hopkins. The committee, who recommended the Southern Waste contract to the council, also recommended the switch to once a week pick-up. They said they recommended the reduction in recycling pick-up because of the cost savings and because participation in the recycling program has been very low.

    The contract begins October 1, and Waste Management will deliver the new bins to residents before that date. Barry was not available for additional comment.