At city council’s Sept. 25 meeting, Director General Bruce St. Louis recommended a one-year contract be signed for eight garbage collection routes in Westmount, and that an agreement be reached with a second waste management company for two other routes.

City councillor George Bowser, who is responsible for public works, said significant increases in workers’ compensation costs imposed on refuse collection contractors, and increased time required to complete garbage collection routes due to new safety requirements, were two of the factors

contributing to the increase.

“Two other suburban municipalities that recently signed new contracts for refuse collection and disposal saw increases of 48 per cent and 104 per cent, so that puts us smack in the middle,� St. Louis said.

A complete review of all options for refuse collection will be carried out in the coming months to establish what changes can be implemented before the City calls again for garbage tenders next year.

St. Louis said that another reason the cost might have shot up so drastically was that the last contract, which was in place for four years, was a fixed amount agreement.

“There was no provision for escalation,� he said. “When you compare the price of fuel in 2006 versus 2002, that’s one of the

components ...

“I’m not here to defend the quotes submitted by the contractors,� he added. “Needless to say, we have concerns when they’re up in the order of 70 per cent increases. But we also have to understand that we’re comparing the conditions of 2006 versus 2002 and not last year. If it was last year, then there’s no way that could be justified.�

Westmount is not the only community where officials are becoming concerned by the rising cost of waste management. In Côte St. Luc, Councillor Dida Berku is calling for an investigation.

Speculating on the factors that might be contributing, she told The Examiner, “I think there’s a cartel. I think that’s the reason. They’re just hiking the prices. I’m going to do an investigation and find out exactly why the prices are hiking so fast.�

St. Louis said that regardless of the latest bids, “we have to have a serious look at this to say what can we do procedurally or administratively to be more cost-effective in refuse collection. We’ve only signed a one-year deal which, in effect, means we’ll be going out to tender again late next spring.�

During question period, Dr. Henry Olders of the Westmount Municipal Association inquired about the amount of money Westmount stands to be refunded from the Montreal Agglomeration, which coordinates garbage disposal operations for the island. “The Agglomeration will return a portion of the disposal costs,� said Bowser. “We don’t know exactly how much or when.�

St. Louis said the City has made provisions in its current budget for a refund of over $300,000 from the Agglomeration.

“We’ll be asking for an amended budget,� he said. “A number of cities have already asked for that because, in fact, it would end up being short of what our actual costs will be for 2006.�