Smithville Council Delays On-Demand Leaf Service Again Until Feb. 1

By Kristen Meriwether, Publisher

For a second time, the Smithville City Council unanimously voted to delay the implementation of the proposed on-demand leaf and limb service, this time until Feb. 1, 2026.

On-demand service was proposed during the budget process over the summer as a way to generate additional revenue and remove a $10 fee from residents' utility bills, which would help offset the addition of a $6.25 monthly fee to pay off newly acquired debt.

But as the Oct. 1 deadline approached, public works director Edward Balusek asked the council to delay until Dec. 1, citing technology issues that could disrupt billing. The $10 fee has stayed on residents' utility bills, in addition to the new $6.25 fee, which was added in October.

At Monday’s meeting, the discussion was less about technology challenges and more about the logistics of receiving and servicing the requests. The severe storm on Oct. 24 that knocked down trees and limbs all over the city revealed how taxing on-demand service would be to both city staff and the four-person crew responsible for pickup in that kind of emergency.

“Maybe when we started this and talked about it ... maybe we didn't look into this really well at that time,” Balusek said at Monday’s meeting.

The budget was passed with the assumption that on-demand service would be implemented. Changing to go back to the flat fee could require an adjustment to the budget.

“We don't know the impact that this decision is going to have on the budget, which is one of the reasons we did it in the first place,” council member Mitch Jameson said. “To me, we extend now to the December council meeting, so we have time to get more feedback for understanding the implications of the decision that we make.”

During the discussion, council member Brandon Dunham also brought up the cost of tub grinding, which turns the collected limbs into mulch at the brush dump. This process was added after an August 2024 fire at the dump burned 11 acres and forced the city to close the dump to the public.

“We spent more than $100,000 in the last fiscal year [for tub grinding]. We have currently budgeted at least $50,000 just for grinding mulch in our brush dump,” council member Dunham said at Monday’s meeting. “It is a very large cost that is being spread to our residents. Every one of us, whether we use the leaf or limb service or not, is having to pay, not just the $10 on the utility bill, but also paying for the tub grinding, which is very expensive.”

In his motion, Dunham directed interim city manager Jeremy Frazier to “understand the full cost and burden associated with servicing leaf and limb service.”

The council will vote to go on-demand or stay with the current flat fee at its Jan. 2026 meeting.