Garbage collection in Saugeen Shores may not be an in-house service much longer.
Council has agreed to enter negotiations with Bruce Area Solid Waste Recycling on a contract after seeking out quotes for garbage collection from outside companies.
Director of Public Works Stuart Doyle says Bruce Area makes sense because Saugeen Shores is a co-owner along with six other Bruce County municipalities, and they are based in Southampton, next to the municipal landfill.
He says moving to a contracted service would see a reduction of two full-time staff members within the public works department.
"We're hoping those reductions in staff will work through attrition, so through retirements and other avenues, but mostly retirement at this time. This is not a reflection on the quality of the service we provide, but more looking at different efficiencies because I really do think the folks in the field have done a great job," says Doyle.
Bruce Area Solid Waste Recycling quoted an annual cost of $291,000 for garbage collection, which Doyle says is about $15,000 less than the cost to provide the service in-house, adding there would be other cost savings over the long term.
Doyle says there's no firm timetable for completing negotiations with BASWR, but adds he expects it to be a fairly standard negotiation.
