Fort Wayne Trash Contract
Posted by Mike Sylvester - 10/7/09 @ 8:28 pm - Filed Under Featured, Local Politics
Jeff put up a couple of good posts about this topic earlier today.
As is the case more often then not; I tend to agree with Jeff.
I actually think that this is one of the only things Mayor Henry has done since he has been Mayor that I think is innovative and may help the city (I admit there is some risk).
I certainly agree with Jeff that the media coverage has been biased in favor of National Serv-All. I listened to the President of Earth First on the Pat White show today and learned a couple of things:
- The President of Earth First used to run National Serv-all.
- Jerry Henry is no longer going to be a 5% owner.
I think there are several important points to consider:
- The city put out an RFP and selected the RFP with the lowest bid. It may be that the City should have got a more detailed proposal; however, that remains to be seen. I have faith in Mr. Howard, the head of City Purchasing.
- National Serv-all must really be overcharging the City of Fort Wayne if they can afford to hire a lawyer with strong Democratic ties, a law firm with strong Republican ties, and a marketing/public relations firm to attempt to get the contract back. They should have saved that money and put out a lower proposal.
I have heard some valid concerns about Earth First; however, I think they should be given an opportunity to address those concerns.
I think that the City Council would be justified in insisting on the following:
- Some proof that Earth First has the financial ability to handle the contract. (Remember back when one City Council member wanted to do the same with the Harrison Square Project and was ignored?)
- A more firm proposal on how Earth First will handle the project including more information about where the waste will be deposited, etc.
- Some provisions that protect the City if Earth First fails to handle the contract. (Note these protective provisions are still being ignored as they relate to Harrison Square…)
I think Earth First should be given a chance to show they can handle the project.
I am disgusted by the “Blue Ribbon” panel National Serv-All has hired to attempt to get the contract back. If they have all this spare money they should make a better proposal to the City for trash removal…
Mike Sylvester
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15 Responses to “Fort Wayne Trash Contract”
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Excellent post Mike. I agree there are some risks and I think you’ve identified some ways the city can mitigate these risks.
I’m willing to give Earth First some leeway unless somebody comes up with a legitimate economic rational detailing why they can’t meet the plan outlined in their RFP. However, there’s certainly nothing wrong with a little extra scrutiny.
Mike,
It probably goes without saying but I’m against the city being involved in the trash business at all. I think it should be left up to individual households to contract their trash pickup with whichever company they wish.
Why not allow the city to negotiate rates with one specific car dealer or hotel or grocery store? Trash pickup is not something the government need be involved in.
And the BS going on with this contract and the “blue ribbon consultants” is a prime example of why…
Jeff,
You do have a little Libertarian in you…
Mike
Why don’t you two get a room.
Mike, you bring up some valid and important points. I also appreciate Councilwoman Goldner’s commentary regarding the risks involved with awarding the trash contract to Earth First.
But, I still am in favor of letting Earth First have an opportunity to provide the city with trash collection service.
Ultimately, I hope our city will follow the lead of other cities across the nation (and world) and move away from the decades old way of collecting and disposing of trash.
I do not believe a flat rate on trash service can continue to be the norm. There is nothing “fair” about charging the same trash collection fee to a single, elderly person who accumulates barely two Wal-Mart plastic shopping bags of trash a week, compared to the family of five who wheels out three overflowing trash cans of waste to the curb on a weekly basis.
We need to seriously look at charging residents (customers) on the basis of the volume of trash they produce.
The city of Fort Collins, CO, has this type of system. It is called PAY-AS-YOU-THROW:
http://www.fcgov.com/recycling/trash-rates.php
From the website:
“Fort Collins has a volume-based trash rates system called “pay-as-you-throw” (PAYT) that provides economic rewards for reducing waste. Residents are charged for the amount of trash they generate in the same way we get billed for the amount of electricity, gas and other utilities that we use. That means “the less you throw away, the less you pay.”
Goldner’s excuse is b.s. So the fuel price going up doesn’t effect national serv all? My business might be effected by rising gas prices too but it shouldn’t effect me winning a contract either.
Go into National Serv-alls lobby and look at the awards on the wall. They win the company margin award almost every year since they’ve been around. Why because of the city of FW contract. They were FAT DUMB and HAPPY and they got caught. Good luck when the contract comes up again.
Andy,
I also favor charging varying rates based on amount of trash collected as long as it is efficiently implemented.
Mike
Jeff,
I can see some benefits from letting individual households choose their own garbage service. But if you do not require each house to show proof that they actually have such service I think you will quickly find a lot of garbage lying around on the streets from people who don’t want to pay for it.
As far as I can see, shutting off a person’s water service if they don’t pay for their garbage to be picked up about the only way to make sure this doesn’t happen. Unless you want to create a city department that monitors each household to make sure they have garbage service.
I talked to an employee of an equipment provider who tells me that Jerry Henry has already purchased expensive machinery to sort trash. Obviously he doesn’t need to have ownership in order to profit from a lucrative garbage contract when his facility is the processing operation between truck pickup and the landfill.
The equipment purchase signals that this deal is greased, but up jumps the City Attorney declaring that sealed bids must be obtained on a defined-terms contract in order to comply with state law. OOPS!
Phil,
What if I want to haul the trash myself? Why should I be forced to pay for a trash service. If you want to keep people from littering then impose stringent fines or other punishment against those that do…
Gadfly,
That’s the city council attorney.
Jeff,
That approach shows why Libertarianism does not work. You will spend far more money trying to find out who is dumping trash in the dark of night and paying city workers to clean up that which is unclaimed.
Phil,
I don’t know if “Libertarianism does not work” or not. But I know for a fact that privatizing trash services has worked as I’ve personally seen it. The city I grew up in, larger than Fort Wayne, got out of the business and allowed the private market to take over. Individual households had to contract their garbage service on their own. Around the time I moved there were probably 8-10 hauling companies to choose from.
I will admit that I have no idea if they are still operating this way or if this made rates any cheaper. But I do know that the city streets were not piling up with garbage…
I found this when I was searching for news about the contract on google:
http://www.earthfirstservices.com/Earth_First_Services/Earth_First_Truths.html
Looks like they have their own response.
James Jones found this web site wile looking for National Serv- All address so he could bill them for the money he paid City Utilities of Fort Wayne, Indiana after he told them that James Jones does not need their trash service at his address where he sleeps. “Both are thieves”!