Public Packs Jerseyville City Hall For Hearing On Trash Service Options

JERSEYVILLE – Several Jerseyville residents made their opinions known at a packed-house hearing on Jan. 20, 2026 as the city considers entering into an exclusive contract for curbside trash pickup.

The prevailing sentiment was clear: Jerseyville residents would rather continue choosing their own trash hauling companies than be forced into a one-company contract, even if it means a sharp spike in dump sticker fees.

Of more than 40 speakers who made comments for over 90 minutes, none expressed outright support for an exclusive trash contract – at most, residents advised city officials to consider their options carefully.

Mayor Kevin Stork emphasized the meeting’s purpose was to gather public feedback and that nothing has been voted on or finalized. Some attendees asked that the item be placed on a ballot referendum to give city-wide residents a chance to vote on it; Stork said the City Council will make its final decision at a future meeting.

Longtime resident Ken Mayberry warned council members of the electoral consequences that would come from voting against the will of the public and creating a city-wide monopoly on residential trash service.

“I think it’s a big mistake letting one company take the whole shooting match,” he said. “You’ve got to realize: we put you in there, we can take you out.”

Three companies have submitted proposals for an exclusive trash contract with the city: Community Sanitation, GFL Environmental, and Republic Services. Several current Republic Services customers expressed frustration with their trash service and pleaded with city officials not to accept their proposal, even as the cheapest option, as multiple residents said “cheaper” does not always mean “better.”

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The current proposals are strictly for residential trash pickup and would not apply to businesses, which would still be allowed to choose their own trash haulers. However, Redbird Deli Owner Carla Murphy said an exclusive contract would go against American free-market values and the small-business values of Jersey County.

“Jersey County, Jerseyville, we were built on small businesses,” Murphy said. “I don’t know why everyone thinks it’s so good to go with all these big companies … we were built on the smallness, and that’s why the majority of us chose Jerseyville.”

Murphy added that an exclusive contract would lead to “trashing up the whole city,” leaving small businesses to deal with the consequences. She explained that Redbird Deli shares a common dumpster area with other downtown businesses and people already throw their personal trash into the businesses’ dumpsters. When one of these dumpsters “overflows,” Republic Services charges the business a $39 fee.

“People are going to start using those common dumpster areas, thinking the city pays for it. They’re going to ‘get back at the city’ by putting it somewhere that they think they city owns – I pay for that,” Murphy said. “None of us want that, you guys don’t want that. So please, please, please, keep it like it is. Raise those dump fees – I don’t care how much you raise them, raising those dump fees is going to be cheaper than anything else.”

Jerseyville officials have previously stated the city dump is operating at a monetary loss. For the city to “break even” and continue dump operations, current estimates indicate dump sticker fees would need to increase from $175 to more than $230 per year. Several speakers at the public meeting said they would be willing to pay the increased amount to continue using the city dump as they do currently.

If the city chooses to pursue an exclusive contract, dump operations would change significantly in a few months. Current permit holders would be allowed to use the dump with their existing stickers until April 30, 2026 before the new exclusive curbside service would start on May 1, 2026. After that point, the city dump site would only be used for occasional city-wide cleanup efforts or related uses.

Multiple residents asked whether the city would be able to prevent arbitrary rate increases if an exclusive company is selected. Mayor Stork responded that rates would be fixed for terms of seven years. The City Council would then vote whether or not to renew the contract for another seven-year term; if rates are significantly higher, Stork indicated they would re-bid the contract to other companies for possibly lower rates.

More information about the exclusive residential trash pickup contract proposals for the City of Jerseyville are available in this related story. Stay tuned to Riverbender.com for the latest coverage as the City Council makes its final decision at a future meeting.

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