West Bridgewater Select Board Approves New Solid Waste Contract With E.L. Harvey

WEST BRIDGEWATER — June 17, 2025 — West Bridgewater Select Board approves a new solid waste contract adding $111,000 in first-year costs. The board unanimously approved a five-year agreement with E.L. Harvey at its June 17 meeting after nine months and six rounds of negotiation, replacing a decade-old deal that had held costs well below market. Hauling fees rise to $290 per unit and municipal solid waste will be charged at $130, pushing the FY26 transfer station budget to $452,000 — roughly a 30 percent year-over-year increase — against a roughly $200,000 revenue gap at the current $145 sticker price. The town administrator secured a Consumer Price Index escalator that applies equally in both directions, rejecting E.L. Harvey's push for a flat 5 percent annual increase. The board also ratified four personnel actions — promoting Officer Julian Suarez to sergeant, and hiring Thomas Gosling as a DPW laborer, Robert Casper as health agent, and Eric Benensky as access coordinator — and approved FY26 board appointments with Finance Committee member Jim Holden removed following his resignation, creating a vacancy the board will fill in September.