Queen Creek, leave the trash-hauling to us

Queen Creek has been vigorous in its efforts over the past two years to take on the trappings of any big-government municipality. The town launched its own fire department and it bought the local water supply company. Now, Queen Creek is ready to impose a single trash-hauling operation on the entire community.

As Tribune writer Amanda Keim reported last week, the Queen Creek Town Council is scheduled to vote Wednesday night on a seven-year contract with Right Away Disposal for garbage collection that residents will be required to pay monthly.

Since Queen Creek was incorporated, residents and homeowner associations have been responsible for getting rid of their own garbage and they could select from up to four different trash-hauling companies for service. Some residents have had problems getting exactly the kind of service they want, and they've asked Queen Creek to step in. At the same time, Queen Creek officials view municipal service as a basic requirement for their community to be perceived as a viable location for ongoing business development.

Unlike some other recent moves, Queen Creek has been deliberative and thoughtful about launching a municipal garbage service. The town researched the issue for about 18 months and delayed bringing a proposed contract to the council for a couple of months so staff could get as comfortable as possible with Right Away Disposal as the sole provider.

In recent weeks, Queen Creek has sought input from residents, sparking a sizable protest from those who say the private market for trash collection has worked relatively well.

One of Queen Creek's best arguments for signing the contract is monthly trash rates would be more affordable than many people were expecting. But critics are right to suspect those rates could climb dramatically after the seven-year contract ends. Queen Creek would create a utility monopoly, putting the existing contractor at a sizable advantage over any future challengers in a new bidding process.

Once the competition is driven out by government intervention, the trash hauler would have the luxury of raising its fees faster than inflation or population growth, This isn't a slight on the business motives of Right Away Disposal; it's Economics 101.

There might be a tipping point in the community's evolution where Queen Creek has no choice but to manage trash collection. But the town isn't there yet, and offering freedom of choice while trusting residents to solve their own problems sounds like a pretty good marketing slogan to us.