By Tim Pallesen
The saga deciding the city’s waste hauler that resulted in an $8.4 million savings is being called “a public policy triumph” by city officials.
Delray Beach residents will see their average monthly garbage fee drop from $9.49 to $7.24 when Southern Waste Systems replaces Waste Management in May.
But the 24 percent savings is also the result of behind-the-scenes drama in the high-stakes competition between waste haulers.
The public policy debate began in August 2012 when a previous City Commission renewed the city’s franchise contract with Waste Management without competitive bidding.
At the same, reorganization within Waste Management prompted John Casagrande, the company’s Delray Beach supervisor, to switch jobs and work for Southern Waste Systems.
The failure to bid the city’s most lucrative contract became a campaign issue in the March 2013 election, where Mayor Cary Glickstein and Commissioner Shelly Petrolia won with fiscal responsibility as a campaign promise.
Commissioners requested and received a circuit judge’s declaratory judgment saying the previous commission had violated its own rules by not seeking competitive bids.
That cleared the way for the city to seek bids for a seven-year contract. Five waste haulers responded, with Waste Management and Southern Waste Systems both offering a sizeable savings over the city’s current contract.
Even though the SWS offer was a $600,000 annual savings over the second-lowest bidder, Waste Management got the city staff recommendation because of experience, equipment and other factors.
“It’s easy to be the cheapest when you provide inferior and inefficient service,” Waste Management communications director Dawn McCormick criticized SWS at a Jan. 20 public hearing.
But Casagrande, as SWS director of development, then convinced commissioners at a follow-up Feb. 4 meeting that he can duplicate Waste Management’s service with fewer trucks at less cost.
“Every other hauler has you beat in every category except price,” Mayor Cary Glickstein told him, questioning why his former employer says 29 garbage trucks are necessary when he estimates 22 will be needed. Casagrande promised to add more trucks at his cost if his estimate is wrong.
The question became whether the SWS was worth the risk for a 9 percent savings. “So do you pay a premium for no risk?” City Manager Don Cooper asked.
“There is a point where it’s worth the risk,” Petrolia replied.
“It’s a very hard number to walk away from,” Commissioner Jordana Jarjura agreed.
Glickstein noted that SWS is “clearly more eager for business.”
The vote to switch waste haulers was 3-1 with Commissioner Adam Frankel against and Commissioner Al Jacquet absent from the Feb. 4 meeting.
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