Solid Waste Contract is Renewed

Though its vote was nearly split, the Colton City Council at the July 7 regular meeting voted 4-3 to approve a renewed 10-year contract with its current solid waste hauler, Republic Services, Inc. Seven dissentions were received during public comment against the item, ultimately pulled from the consent calendar for discussion after a motion made by Mayor Pro Tem Frank Navarro was seconded by Councilman Isaac Suchil. Dissatisfaction from residents and some council members stemmed from the city’s failure to request bids for solid waste services. The city’s current contract with Republic expires June 2016 and the newly approved contract had been in the negotiation process for nearly a year. Michael Razo, chair of the Colton Utilities Commission, said the lack of a request for proposal has caused confusion regarding the services proposed by the contract negotiations. "We need time to negotiate a solid contract, in my opinion, and right now there's a lot of ambiguity and confusion about whether we're getting the best bang for our buck." Razo also said the Utilities Commission had not seen the proposed contract until they requested a copy, and he asked the council to allow the Commission to review items that would affect utility bills. The new 10-year-contract includes a potential five-year extension at the city's option; a rate freeze for residential customers at the recently-approved current rate, $23.79 per month, until July 2017; a 15 percent franchise fee, estimated to generate $1.1 million of yearly revenue to the city; a yearly administrative fee of $120,000 paid to the city; $290,000 yearly to be used for additional city services, including street sweeping and tree trimming; a 5 percent road impact fee, estimated to generate $360,000 of yearly revenue for road repair in the city; a tipping fee of $1 per ton with an annual income of $30,000 to the city; a part-time recycling coordinator to create, promote, and administer programs throughout the city; and an expanded discarded item pick up program for city residents. Council Member Suchil supported a request for bids. "An RFP is nothing new,” Suchil said. "We have to run a city as a business, so based on that, I think we have to go to RFP. If we don't, we are shortchanging our residents and we are shortchanging our businesses by not finding out if we are, in fact, getting the best deal." Public Works Director Amer Jakher said in April 2014 staff submitted an agenda item for a consultant to look at contracting solid waste services in-house or request proposals, but after the council in place at that time directed staff to look at either renewing its contract with Republic or going to bid, those were the options staff came back to the council with in August 2014. Jakher said, "At that time staff had brought it to the council early enough to negotiate and if that was not the case, we would be able to go to RFP. This was discussed at length and the council decided that was right for them at the time." Council Member Luis Gonzalez did not feel the council negotiated the best rates, services package or overall best agreement for the city, saying that the council's failure to hire a consultant and request bids resulted in a "missed opportunity to get an agreement for the best service." But Council Member Summer Zamora Jorrin disagreed, saying she supported the contract approval because business is also about “valuing the relationships you’ve formed.” She said Republic’s “strong relationship with the city and the community” was something to consider, and she felt the council had negotiated a “good, solid contract.” Navarro, who in previous discussions supported a contract renewal with certain stipulations, said on July 7 that he supported an RFP after having done more research. “We were told it was a good deal, but what am I going to compare it to?” Navarro said. “We really don’t have an orange to compare to an orange. We need to see what’s out there… if we are not going to be stewards of (the citizens’) dollar in a prudent way, then we shouldn’t be sitting here.” Mayor Richard De La Rosa said he felt going to a request for proposal after negotiations and discussions with Republic over the last year would send a message of "bad faith" to businesses. "We insisted on rates, we insisted on terms, we insisted on extra services and the company (Republic) has a proven track record. They have been with us for 16 years and they have provided excellent service… businesses are not in the business of giving away a service or product," De La Rosa said. "We need to have good faith negotiations." Council Member David S. Toro made the substitute motion to accept and approve the contract, which was seconded by Jorrin. The council voted 4-3, with Council Members Deirdre Bennett, Toro, Jorrin, and Mayor De La Rosa supporting the contract renewal's approval and Navarro, Gonzalez and Suchil dissenting.