It was another standing-room-only Marshall City Council meeting on Monday, March 21.

The big issue discussed was whether or not the city should approve a contractual agreement with Rural Trash Service (RTS) of Slater for the picking up of trash, yard waste and recycling for the city.

Earlier, City Administrator JD Kehrman explained city crews are down to a bare-bones number of employees to handle both street and sanitation services.

At the meeting, several Marshall residents and a non-resident spoke out for the city to be cautious in outsourcing this service for numerous reasons.

Kehrman was asked numerous questions, including was any other bid considered.

RTS owner David Kruger assured Marshall residents his crews can do the job. He urges residents to contact other cities where RTS collects trash and inquire about the service.

Municipal Services’ Director Bill Anderson explained his department- street and sanitation- is down a total of eight employees at this time. He surmised that if pay gets better, the retention rate of employees is likely to follow.

When asked, and by a show of hands, it seemed a majority of citizens who were in attendance even would be in favor of a rate increase for the city to maintain the service.

In the end, Ward 1 Councilman Dewey Hedrix explained he would like to table the ordinance so the city can gain more much-needed information.

The motion to table any decision was approved by a unanimous vote of the council.

YOU CAN LISTEN TO ALL OF THE COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS FROM THE AUDIENCE, KRUGER AND CITY ADMINISTRATOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS BY CLICKING THE PLAY BUTTON ON THE AUDIO LINK BELOW.