Please consider this my invoice to the Bellevue City Council for excess fees I will pay to have garbage pickup from my Bellevue home with the new contract it awarded. Although the city staff scored CleanScapes higher on qualitative factors and compliance and they had the lower cost bid, the council chose to still require Bellevue residents to use the higher cost service of Republic.

Mayor Conrad Lee was quoted as saying that the cost difference “is not significant when you spread it around all the customers, the rate-payers.” Well, as one of those “rate payers”, it is significant for me.

The city of Bellevue should reimburse me $226.80. This is the total of $2.70 per month (the average increased payment for customers) for 84 months (7 years by 12 months), the length of this contract. I would expect an additional reimbursement if the contract is renewed for an additional seven years.

If the city does not have the funds to cover this invoice, then perhaps Lee and council members Balducci, Davidson, Robertson Wallace could create a fund for this from the campaign contributions they’ve received from Republic.

Rachel Endicott, Bellevue