County Solid Waste Department staff ended up with more than 7,300 tickets submitted through county Contact Center after changes took place in late March

Thirty days after two new companies began collecting Sarasota County Government customers’ garbage, recycling and yard waste, the county’s Solid Waste Department staff saw the level of efficiency reach the 99.8% mark, Brian Usher, director of the department, told the County Commission during its July 2 budget workshop.
“And we will continue to improve that, going forward,” Usher added.
In early March 2024, the commissioners seated at that time voted unanimously in approving Usher’s recommendation to create two service districts — North County and South County — along with new franchises agreements for those districts.
Waste Pro of Florida won the North County contract; for South County, the company chosen was FCC Environmental Services.
The switch from Waste Management, which had covered the entire county, went into effect on March 31 of this year.
One facet of the new franchises, Usher explained in March 2024, would be county staff’s ability to use technology to verify that services were provided as expected to every customer.
During his July 2 presentation of his proposed budget for the 2026 fiscal year, Usher told the commissioners that that technology is part of the high level of service that staff seeks to provide to county customers. It allows staff to hold the service providers accountable, he added, and it helps facilitate interaction with customers. “Our team has done a fantastic job of those customer interactions,” he said.
“You had a huge lift this year,” Commissioner Teresa Mast told Usher. “I want you to know that you have consistently, 100%, with very polite, respectful, incredible staff, responded to a lot of very passionate requests and complaints. I thank you very much for doing it with such class.”
“Thank you very much,” Usher replied.
“I don’t envy you your job at all,” Commissioner Mark Smith told Usher, adding that he still gets emails related to the new solid waste service providers.
Smith also noted that he had the recent opportunity to talk with the vice president of FCC Environmental. “He asked me how they were doing,” Smith continued. “I told him, ‘You’re getting there. … It’s a learning curve.’ ”
“It is,” Usher concurred. “Both providers have significantly improved over time.”

Since the switch went into effect in late March, Usher noted, “We’ve had over 7,300 tickets submitted just through [the county Contact Center, which may be reached at 311].” However, he immediately explained, “They weren’t all complaints.”
As of the end of the previous week, Usher said, “We were down to 100 open tickets.”
“I think one of the biggest comments I’ve gotten [from commercial companies],” Smith said, is “ ‘Why is [the service] so darn expensive?’ ” Smith added that he explains to those who make such comments that the firms that won the contracts were the low bidders. “They’re a little nostalgic about Waste Management,” Smith noted of the commercial customers.
“They think if we hadn’t changed [providers], the rates wouldn’t have gone up,” Smith pointed out.
“Yes,” Usher responded.
Smith said he spent some time with a couple of the complainants to explain that that it was untrue that rates would not have climbed if the county had forged a new contract with Waste Management.
The Waste Management contract was in effect for 20 years, Usher pointed out. It called for Consumer Price Index increases, year-over-year, he added.
“When you take that and solicit new agreements,” he continued, “Now you’re looking at market rates …” In other words, Usher noted, what are those services going for across the country?
He also pointed to the increases in prices that people see in grocery stores. Those add up over time, Usher said.
Then Commissioner Ron Cutsinger asked Usher to remind him how many new garbage carts had to be delivered countywide before the two new providers began their automated collection services.
“Over 140,000,” Usher replied.

“I can’t even imagine what the logistics were of getting all that done,” Cutsinger responded. “The transition was exceptionally difficult,” he added, especially in the aftermath of the 2024 storm season.
It is not unexpected to get emails with complaints, Cutsinger continued, when a transition to new service providers takes place.
“The one thing I find incredible,” Cutsinger pointed out, is that when the Solid Waste staff gets a complaint, “It’s not 24 hours before that person is contacted, and a resolution reached.”
He told Usher, “When you respond that way it really helps us. … We fully understand the work you’ve done.”
Cutsinger did ask for assurance that he is correct in his understanding that someone calling the Contact Center, at 311, has the option of speaking directly to a person on the Solid Waste staff.
“They can,” Usher replied, adding, “We got our service providers to buy into the [311] system as well.” Therefore, he pointed out, a customer can speak to county staff or to someone employed by the waste management firm that is responsible for the person’s collections.
Then Cutsinger told Usher that his children, who were in Sarasota for a visit, had told him that they pay twice as much for their solid waste services as Sarasota County customers pay.
“It comes out to about $2.50 per week per single-family household,” Usher said of the expense. Altogether, he added, the homeowners’ fees cover the collections — including four free bulk pickups each year per household — along with the expense of the service providers’ employees, trucks, travel time and fuel.
Cutsinger also noted that his children do not get yard-waste service.
Commissioner Tom Knight told Usher that he felt the transition “was great.” He did give many county residents the information about how to email the Contact Center if they did not want to call 311, he added. “They were so happy about the service you gave back,” Knight added.