SLIPPERY ROCK — Borough solicitor Neva Stotler pushed back Tuesday against critics of the municipality’s garbage collection contract, saying their concerns are based on misinformation.

Borough residents Chuck Brochetti and Itzi Meztli, who is a former council member and who voted to approve the new contract with Tri-County Industries, have criticized the three-year deal, which is valued at $944,000, as having an excessive number of monthly billings for which the borough is liable.

At the borough council meeting, Stotler said the critiques by Meztli and Brochetti are based on “a whole world of misinformation,” regarding the contract, which she said is a bulk services agreement rather than a per-unit deal.

Stotler said that means the borough’s payments to Tri-County won’t change on a per-bill basis, so the alleged phantom billings wouldn’t matter.

“If there’s 1,200 residents or 1,100 residents, the rate won’t change,” Stotler said of the contract.

But in investigating the claims, borough officials did uncover one issue — a “tradition” of allowing seasonal residents and property owners to opt out or cancel their garbage collection contracts when their residences are vacant.

Stotler said that’s not allowed by borough codes, and it’s been stopped. So the municipality’s collection rate under the garbage contract shouldn’t change despite population fluctuations from students and seasonal residents moving in and out of the borough.

Garbage collection bills still would be sent to and collected from the owner of a vacant rental property or apartment, Stotler said.

“In all of the misinformation that’s been bandied about, that’s one thing we uncovered, and it’s been corrected,” Stotler said.

Meztli and Brochetti have criticized multiple municipal employees in the course of their critiques, and publicly called on borough officials to discipline the people they said were responsible for the alleged mistakes in the contract.

On Tuesday Stotler took issue with those comments, calling them outside the scope of appropriate public comment at meetings. She also took issue with claims by Meztli that he was not allowed to see the contract’s final iteration before the council members voted to approve it in December.

“I’m in awe of Dr. Meztli’s righteous indignation,” Stotler said.

Meztli on Tuesday reiterated those claims, saying the contract was changed without his knowledge.

“We never saw that finalized version. They switched it and didn’t even tell us,” he said.