Although the city is only one week away from switching its garbage service over to a private company, less than 200 residents have signed up for the mandatory service — leaving the majority of the city with an item lingering on their to-do list.

We encourage everyone that wishes to receive roadside garbage pickup to sign up with Advanced Disposal as soon as possible. All it takes is a phone call.

The city has already held several public meetings to address any questions or concerns that residents may have about the switch, which will still use the same garbage route.

Also, within the contract the city of Selma made with Advanced Disposal, there was an agreement to keep all service charges exactly the same. Residents will be billed quarterly for service and monthly installments can be made. Payments can be made through cash, check, credit card or money order.

In one of the public meetings, Lynn Gowan, government affairs and marketing for Advanced Disposal, said the number of people who have signed up for the service is less than was expected.

“We had very few people actually sign up,” Gowan said. “We had less than 200 people sign up so we are just going to go ahead and send everyone who is registered with the city a bill for the services and taking those who have exemptions and disregarding them from the billing.”

The city’s contract with Advanced Disposal states that the agreement between Selma and the company is in fact exclusive, so residents must use Advanced Disposal for all of their garbage services, both commercial and residential.

We urge all residents, if they haven’t already, to call Advanced Disposal at (866) 252-0458 and speak with customer service to sign up for the new garbage service or visit www.advanceddisposal.com. The new service will be put into effect Feb. 1.