London City Council Tabs Sanitation Outsourcing Plan After Public Pushback

LONDON, Ohio — London City Council tabled three pieces of sanitation legislation Monday night after residents raised concerns about outsourcing the department and increasing rates, citing past negative experiences with city service transfers.

The council’s first meeting of 2026 began with the swearing-in of new council member Tommy Boyd and new city clerk Chris Miller for the 2026-2027 term. Members then unanimously adopted updated council rules and committee assignments.

The rules removed GPU oversight from the finance committee and added the sanitation department to public service. Committee chairs include Greg Eats for finance, Andrew Hit for public service and Rich Hayes for public safety.

The main business of the evening centered on three items: Resolution 190-25 authorizing bids for sanitation services, Resolution 191-25 for trash hauling services and Ordinance 192-25 adjusting sanitation rates. Council left all three on the table without a vote.

Several residents urged caution during the audience concerns portion of the meeting. Doug Piles of Bishop Drive warned council against eliminating another city service, drawing parallels to the city’s previous transfer of water and sewer operations to the Mid Ohio Water and Sewer District.

“Your council was making a decision to eliminate another one of the wonderful services that’s being provided by the city of London,” Piles said.

Jim Boyd, who offered to volunteer his process improvement expertise to review sanitation operations, questioned whether council had sufficient information about costs and long-term impacts before making a decision.

Council members debated whether to put the sanitation decision to a non-binding advisory ballot or make the decision themselves. Members agreed they needed more information before proceeding.

The meeting also included discussion of ongoing technical issues with the council chamber’s audio and video system. Council President Josh Peters said he has contacted One Vision Solutions for a quote on upgrading the system, which has experienced microphone gain problems and audio distortion during livestreams. The city clerk suggested transitioning from the current YouTube-based system to Zoom, which the city already pays for and uses in another room, citing better transcription features and recording capabilities.

Council adjourned without setting a date for further discussion of the sanitation legislation.

Key moments

Contentious

Public comment on sanitation outsourcing

Doug Piles warned council about giving up control of sanitation, citing past failures with water/sewer transfer and questioning whether private contractor would maintain service levels.

Significant

Jim Boyd offers to lead process review

Jim Boyd requested council table sanitation legislation for 60-90 days to allow a structured review of operations, offering his Lean Six Sigma expertise to facilitate.

Significant

Council debate on advisory ballot

Council member Shannon Trainer discussed the possibility of a non-binding advisory election on sanitation privatization, noting the February 4th deadline for the primary ballot.

Public interest

Audio/visual system issues

Council discussed poor audio quality on YouTube recordings and plans to get a quote from One Vision Solutions for a room revamp, possibly switching to Zoom.

Full analysis

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Meeting Analysis

City of London City Council — 2026-01-05

Meeting Information

Title: London City Council Meeting 1/5/2026

Parish: City of London City Council

Date: 2026-01-05

Video: Recording

Transcript segments: 1100

Item	Description	Action	Vote Status
Swearing-in of new council members and clerk	New council member Tommy Boyd and new city clerk Chris Miller were sworn in for the 2026-2027 term.	Oath administered; members signed papers.	Unanimous
Adoption of city council rules for 2026-2027	Council adopted updated rules, including changes to committee assignments (GPU removed from finance, sanitation added to public service).	Rules adopted by voice vote.	Unanimous
Appointment of council committees for 2026-2027	Committee assignments were made: Finance (Greg Eats chair, Shannon Trainer, Lisa Jackman), Public Service (Andrew Hit chair, Lisa Jackman, Thomas Boyd), Public Safety (Rich Hayes chair, John Stall, Andrew).	Committee assignments approved by voice vote.	Unanimous
Sanitation department outsourcing and rate increase legislation (Resolutions 190-25, 191-25, Ordinance 192-25)	Three pieces of legislation related to sanitation: authorizing bids for sanitation services, trash hauling services, and adjusting sanitation rates. Public comment raised concerns about lack of information and parallels to past water/sewer transfer.	All three items were left on the table for further information; no vote taken.	Tabled

Proposed $1.5 to $1.7 million in capital improvements for sanitation department.
Proposed rate increase of $8 per month (36-38% increase) for sanitation services.
City has funds to operate sanitation until May without rate increase.
Rumpke rates would remain the same during transition period.

Loss of local control over essential services (water/sewer, sanitation) to outside entities.
Lack of transparency and insufficient information for major decisions.
Rate increases without clear justification or long-term planning.
Past decisions (EMS, water/sewer) made without public vote leading to negative outcomes.

Debate over outsourcing sanitation vs. keeping in-house, with public speakers citing past negative experiences with water/sewer transfer to Mid Ohio Water and Sewer District.
Lack of information and transparency regarding costs, long-term impacts, and rate increases for sanitation.
Proposal to put sanitation decision to a non-binding advisory ballot vs. council making the decision directly.

No department reports noted.

Law director to provide further information on advisory election procedures and deadlines.
Safety service director to consider Jim Boyd's offer to facilitate a sanitation operations review.
Clerk to obtain quotes from One Vision Solutions for audio/visual system upgrade.
Council members to notify clerk which Ohio Municipal League seminar they will attend.