Nov. 23—ATHENS — The Limestone County Commission on Tuesday decided to spend millions of dollars to establish its own solid waste collection service by April 1 rather than bidding out a new contract to replace the current collection service, which is going out of business.

The commissioners unanimously voted to start their own garbage service in an effort to avoid raising the cost of residents' bills. If they had contracted the service to a new company, Limestone County Engineer Marc Massey said, the cost for customers would have increased.

CCS Garbage Service has held the contract for Limestone County since 1977, and Steve Gatlin, 62, its owner since 1989, has decided to retire and close the business.

Massey said only one of the garbage service companies he spoke with was willing to keep the same rate as CCS even temporarily. According to Massey, that company said it would soon have to raise its rates.

District 4 Commissioner LaDon Townsend said he voted for the commission to start its own service with the goal of keeping customers' rates at the same level.

"The contractors we had talked to, some of them, we just felt like we were going to have to increase the rate and that's something that I didn't want to do," he said. "We just had a rate increase and I felt like we needed to keep it low."

In October, residents' monthly garbage service bill increased from $12.96 to $18 due to higher fuel prices and dumping fees.

Massey said there will be nine routes and the county will have to acquire 13 trucks with lifting arms to pick up the garbage bins. The estimated cost of the trucks is about $3.39 million, and the cost of acquiring 26,000 95-gallon trash bins is about $1.76 million. Including interest, the county expects to pay about $1.2 million per year over five years for the trucks and bins.

The bins will be delivered to customers' homes in February.

Townsend said he wants a service similar to the one in Athens.

"With what the city's got with their own automated service, it's something that the county needed," he said. "I think it'll minimize some of the trash on the side of the road with having the trash cans that we're going to provide to the county citizens."

District 3 Commissioner Derrick Gatlin said the commission is trying to provide a better service for the citizens.

"A lot of citizens have asked for the cans that roll up the drive with a single arm pickup," he said. "We feel like we can do it in-house and provide the automatic lift service and the cans for the same amount that the citizens are paying now."

Overhead costs include about $6 per gallon for fuel, tipping fees for the landfill at about $41 per ton, and 1,500 new cans per year for new customers and replacement cans. Massey estimates the overhead to be about $2.3 million annually.

"Everything's going to be financed," Massey said. "There are several banks that do governmental loans like that. ... We'll send them out and request quotes back."

The commission also created a new solid waste collection department at Tuesday's meeting. Massey estimates that for 14 new employees, wages and benefits included, the cost will be about $1 million per year. He said the labor expense would be paid for with money collected for the garbage service.

"We have a solid waste fund currently that's a portion of the $18 that we collect (per month from each residential customer) that is used for like litter patrol and those type things," Massey said. "There is money in that account that would get us started day one, and then as we receive the funds for providing the service then those funds are what would pay the debt and will pay for the personnel."

District 1 Commissioner Daryl Sammet said he wants to try to keep costs down but knows that this will be an expensive endeavor.

"It's hard right now with fuel and cost of equipment like it is, labor," he said. "We think we can take it over and keep our cost down."

District 2 Commissioner Danny Barksdale said the county taking over the service is overdue.

"That's a part of Limestone County's modernization process," he said. "We can provide a service and have more control of that service."

—erica.smith@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2460.