PORT ST. LUCIE — The Port St. Lucie City Commission voted unanimously on Aug. 25 to raise solid waste rates beginning in October, citing increased landfill fees and obligations under its contract with FCC Environmental Services.
The decision followed a crowded commission meeting where city officials detailed the circumstances that left Port St. Lucie with limited choices in 2022, when its longtime contractor WastePro pulled out.
“WastePro prematurely and inappropriately ended the franchise agreement, giving the city six months to pick another qualified garbage company to service the city,” said Carmen Capezzuto, director of neighborhood services. “That was the position the city was left in. Six months to replace the only garbage company you have providing for the whole town.”
Mayor Shannon Martin pointed out that in 2019, during contract discussions, WastePro did not seek higher rates. She pressed Capezzuto to explain how dire the situation became when the company terminated its contract.
“We were faced with 12 months as the best case scenario, but 18 months is what all the industry experts and consultants were telling us,” Capezzuto said. “We did it in one third of the time.”
Commissioners also asked about the number of bidders. Capezzuto said five companies submitted proposals, but only two met qualifications. “We were left with two, and ultimately, the FCC was the cheapest by far, based on the final two bids that we had,” he said.
Vice Mayor Jolien Caraballo expressed frustration that none of the bidders offered residents twice-a-week service. “The issue with FCC is, I would have loved to evaluate twice a week service, but we weren’t even being offered that,” she said. “The best that they could do was to tell us that ‘maybe in a year or two years we might be able to bring back twice a week service, at cost.’ None of the companies that bid were actually giving us the option of twice a week service.”
Caraballo said the city’s priority was simply to clear trash from the streets. “If you lived here during that time, which was probably the most miserable time I have ever lived in the city, we needed to get the garbage off the streets as quickly as possible, and so this was our option,” she said. She added that the city is “looking at multiple options, we’re looking at even doing it in-house and what would be the savings, we’re looking [at] all kinds of different ways of attacking this for the future.”
Mayor Martin also addressed suggestions that WastePro was unaware of Port St. Lucie’s rapid growth.
“That is 100%, absolutely false,” she said. “Our neighborhood service division was in touch and regularly communicating on not only a daily basis, but an hourly basis with WastePro about what our growth looked like. We gave them a report every month about the certificate of occupancies that were issued from the building department so they knew exactly how many homes that would need garbage service.”
City staff outlined the details of the new rate. Solid waste director Mariana Feldpausch said the current franchise agreement caps annual increases at four percent, tied to the consumer price index.
“This year the CPI was 4.9 percent, so there was a saving 0.9 percent, or a saving of $3 per resident,” she said.
She said the new assessment will be $467.33 per year, or $38.94 per month, an increase of $20.89 from last year.
“This annual assessment includes 168 annual curbside stops, comprising of 52 garbage stops, 52 recycling stops, 52 yard waste stops, and 12 bulk stops,” she said. “Each stop carries a cost of $2.78.”
Councilman Anthony Bonna emphasized that the service remains affordable.
“This new rate is less than $9 a week if you divide it out weekly,” he said. “I can’t think of any way beyond this franchise agreement that we would be able to deliver a service that comes to your house for three different pickups, plus once a month for bulk, for less than $9 a week. When you combine the CPI increase with the landfill cost increase, it’s $20 more than last year.”
City Manager Jesus Merejo said the increase could have been much higher.
“This $20.89, really you could have been looking at $90, because that’s where it would have been,” he said, pointing to negotiations with Nature’s Keepers that helped offset landfill costs.
Public comment showed widespread frustration. One resident said, “We got forced into a not very attractive contract. We pay 46% more for 52% less service, which is unfortunate, but it’s what we got. But in preparation for this meeting, I did a search of other Treasure Coast cities. Fort Pierce is paying $408, that’s 14% less than what we are paying, based on this increase.”
Another resident, Amanda McKenzie, said, “The solid waste fund structure and inter-fund activity call for deeper review before raising rates.”
After hearing residents’ concerns, Martin clarified that the city is locked into its contract with FCC until 2029. While commissioners reiterated their regret about the higher rates, they said the increase was unavoidable under the existing agreement. The motion to adopt the proposal passed unanimously.