Peachtree City residents, you can still choose your own trash pick-up provider.

Peachtree City will not be adopting the monopoly franchise model for trash collection, the City Council decided last Thursday night.

But garbage collection companies were put on notice, particularly Allied, which accounted for 93 percent of the 80 garbage complaints called in to City Hall in recent weeks.

A representative for Allied said that 90 percent of its problems would be taken care of in March when several new pieces of equipment will be acquired. He also said the company was aware of the various problems and was working to resolve them, and he would be willing to come meet with citizens once a week to hear first-hand of trash complaints.

Still, said city spokesperson Betsy Tyler, Allied’s problems seem to be recurring, such as entire streets being missed for trash pickup.

Councilwoman Judi-ann Rutherford, who voted against the motion to drop the trash franchise issue, said the city should look into revoking its contract with Allied as the city’s “preferred provider.” The designation was initially designed to hold prices down and provide some measures for quality control, Tyler said.

A need to enforce quality control was one of the main reasons behind the franchise proposal, which would allow only one provider to handle all home trash pickup in the city, Tyler said. The proposal included the posting of a $25,000 cash bond by the company that won the bid, and that money could be used to levy fines against the company for recurring problems, Tyler said.

Another benefit of the proposed franchise would have been the reduction in truck traffic, she added.

Council voted down the franchise proposal 4-1, with Rutherford the lone vote in favor of the monopoly proposal. But several council members suggested staff look into requiring a higher cash bond from all residential trash pickup providers allowed to operate in the city.

Currently, Allied (formerly EPI) and Republic (also known as Allsouth-Robertson) are the two largest providers in the city, the only other one being Peach State Disposal out of Griffin, Tyler said.

Although the franchise proposal would have resulted in a fee hike for city residents, Allied plans to ask for another rate increase this year under the preferred provider contract due to higher fuel costs. The low bidder for the franchise trash collection was Republic, which was $1.29 cheaper than the bid from Allied for once-a-week trash collection and 50 cents a week cheaper for twice-a-week collection.

For once-a-week trash collection, Republic’s bid was 40 cents a month more than the current price offered by Allied, but Allied’s bid was $1.29 more than Republic’s. For twice-weekly collection, Republic’s bid was $7.58 less that Allied’s bid price.

Republic’s low bids in both categories represented increases of 40 cents and 50 cents a month more than the current prices charged by Allied. Republic was also significantly cheaper on recycling, yard trimmings and bulky waste collections.

Tyler noted that the preferred provider contract was developed years ago after city officials realized Peachtree City residents were being charged more for trash collection than people living in the unincorporated county and Tyrone.

Councilmen Stuart Kourajian and Steve Boone came out strongly against the proposal, but Mayor Harold Logsdon said he wants to revisit the concept next year, adding that he wanted to see a better recycling program for the city.

Several residents at the meeting complained that they need to have trash picked up twice a week, but the staff recommendation for the franchise proposal would have limited it to once a week. Others said they should simply have the right to choose their trash provider.

One resident critical of the franchise plan said his homeowners association negotiated a price for the entire subdivision, and everyone in the subdivision has to use the same provider.

“That sounds like what we were thinking about doing,” Logsdon replied, eliciting laughter from the audience.

The trash franchise concept was discussed at last year’s council retreat, but the city didn’t undertake a public education program before unveiling the proposal last week, Tyler said.