Why Councillor Duquenne Was Right About Recology (And How Mayor Graham Used Racist Tactics to Bully the Council in Recology’s Favor)
Why Councillor Duquenne Was Right About Recology
(And How Mayor Graham Used Racist Tactics to Bully the Council in Recology’s Favor)
At the last council meeting (1), Recology asked for and received a whopping 8.75% increase in fees that we citizens will be required to pay.
The Manager of Recology spouted off the reason was that they had to hire two more people, that labor is expensive and that gas prices are high. (Recology pays roughly $28.00 per hour, so not that expensive.)
So, unlike the council, I did the math with the figures available.
Percentage rises vs Consumer Price Index:
Since we hired Recology in 2013, they raised rates by 56.8%. For a comparison, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from 2013 to today is 44.5% which means Recology Ashland got a whopping 12.3% increase above the CPI that goes right into Recology’s pockets.
Put that in perspective: a gallon of gas in Oregon in 2013 in this area averaged $3.51(2). Today it averages about $4.50(3). That is an increase of 28%. A refuse collector in Ashland made $20/hour(4) and now makes $28/hour(5) about 45%. Trucks and equipment look like they are the hardest hit with an increase of close to 75% (6).
History and Math
Before Recology took over, the previous company, Ashland Sanitary, had to submit its financials to the council and they are a matter of public record(7). At the time of their sale, their gross was $2,879,751. In a simplistic overview, applying all of Recology’s rate increases they should be grossing $4,511,993.86. But there is a HUGE asterix to this number. Recology added a tremendous number of more expensive services and fees. So I expect their gross to be north of $6,000,000.
Final bit of math: The cost to the people of Ashland
At the most conservative math, an 8.75% increase will net Recology about $363,000 just for the trash carts. (8) That does not count commercial business, like restaurants, apartment buildings, hotels nor small businesses nor medical waste. Nor could I include costs for all those small extras, like a second green waste for fall leaves, nor that extra pick up after vacation, nor the appliance pickup nor the dumpster rental for the remodel.
My estimate doesn’t include these numbers because our council has never published them. No one on the council did the math and said “Woah between $363,000 for basic trash collection and $726,000 annual net is a lot.What’s going on there?”
About the Contract
The contract signed in 2019 (9) is not a great deal for the City of Ashland. It gives Recology a guaranteed profit of between 8-12%. It pins increase to the CPI plus whatever it needs to get that profit. While it outlines what proper operations can be, it does not allow the city any power to say no to anything. So for instance, it added a “Recycle Center Surcharge” to all bills in 2024. The council didn’t approve it, nor did the people. Another example is that they added two more people to their payroll at a time when the city is facing a budget deficit, cutting services and raising fees.
The ONLY two levers this contract leaves is reporting and auditing. The reporting is contractually confidential, thus no members of the public can double check any of the work, nor even verify the number of services received by the citizens. An audit by the city paid for by the city - plus we know that our mayor is allergic to audits.
We also know that the Finance Department is understaffed. How much were they able to do? We don’t even know if the councillors themselves have even seen the reports. Clearly Councillor Duquene may have, as she had objections, but, given the confidentiality clause, the public is not allowed to hear about it.
What the Council asked about
The council spent its time talking about bear carts. Let me repeat that. The council spent its time asking about bear carts - not the weight of an 8.75% fee increase on its citizens.
Bringing up the R word
For a mayor who talks about civility all the time, Mayor Graham sure did not practice what she preached when Councillor Duquenne said no. Councillor DuQuenne stated, “However, in this year, the rate payers, the residents of Ashland have had so many increases on our utilities that while I appreciate what you do, I will not be supporting this, but thank you.”
To which Mayor Graham immediately jumped in to cut off any discussion by saying, “...if they've satisfied the, the, the calculations and they're staying within the contracted elements, we don't really have a legitimate reason to not pass (the rate increase).” Her tone was patronizing and demeaning to the longest sitting member of the council as though Councillor Duquenne had no idea what she was talking about.
Councillor DuQuenne stepped up again and, to the Mayor’s exasperation, explained to her “I do understand that and that's why I'm gonna stand on principle and not vote for this…”
This is not the first time Mayor Graham undermined Councillor Duquenne but a very blatant example. She often. calls on her last, makes pejorative comments, and undermines her through other means. Though we are not supposed to say the R word in Ashland, this whole interaction smacked of micro aggressive racist arrogance and is a very clear example.
What are they good for
The next comment was from Councillor Hansen “I wasn't on council when it accidentally got voted down, but then we got in legal trouble and had to come back and spend staff, staff time and money to go back and redo this, right?”
My question back to him is, what are staff here for if not to question and analyze a huge fee increase that will cost the citizens and businesses something between $363,000 to $726,000? If not question and research, then what are they good for? This is staff’s and council’s job - to maintain livability in Ashland.
Fight for us. Someone needs to.
(1) Ashland Council Business Meeting Resolution 2026-14 - Relating to Solid Waste Management Service Rates and repealing Resolution No. 2025-14 (2) 2013-12 Summary of transportation economic and revenue forecasts(3) ODOT Monthly Fuel Price (MFP) per gallon
(4) Teamsters 962 Collective Bargaining Agreement
(5) Current Job Opening Indeed.com
(6) This was the fuzziest number as I could not find exact prices from 2013, though looking at used sideloading truck sites the number seems to range from $150,000 to $200,000. New trucks can range from $200-400K depending on the number of whistles and bells you want on it. I excluded electric trucks as we have none in Ashland.
(7) Ashland Study Session Monday Oct 15, 2012(8) Methodology for calculating cart increase: 2026 rate - 2025 rates * number of households found in 2013 Recology contract page 26 Attachment B. I used only the rates for the 32, 64, 96 gal carts, recycling only carts and recycling fee. I could not include any other of the 63 other services as they are not public.