Livingston Aldermen Vote To Purchase A New Trash Truck

Livingston will soon be getting a new garbage truck.

The city had set aside $245,000 in its budget to purchase a new truck last year. The purchase was delayed while the Board of Aldermen explored hiring a private contractor to handle the city trash. Mayor Curtis Hayes said that deal fell through due to high costs.

“We did have a work session to discuss what direction we wanted to go in the garbage industry and there was a misunderstanding on the pricing, so we went ahead and went out and bid on a garbage truck,” Hayes said.

The bids for the new truck came in Monday with a low number of $200,727. The Board of Aldermen unanimously approved the purchase. Hayes said he has been told this truck will be in the city’s fleet by February.

“We had the bid opening, advertised it in the paper and municipal equipment came with a bid of $200,727 even,” Hayes said. “That was a budgeted line item of $245,000, so that comes in under budget.”

Hayes had previously expressed a need to have a truck with a front-loader arm to help with commercial and multi-unit pick up, but that purchase has been put on hold.

“It is a conventional truck as you’re used to seeing with the back loader and three folks to operate the truck,” Hayes said.

One of the reasons the board decided to explore privatizing their trash pick up was because the long wait period to receive a garbage truck.