News

By Tim Pallesen

    Delray Beach commis-sioners will ask a judge to undo the city’s $65 million contract with garbage hauler Waste Management, arguing that it violates a city competitive bidding law.
    A previous commission approved the no-bid contract last August.
    “Public trust in city hall was fractured by this decision,” Mayor Cary Glickstein said before a 4-1 vote on June 18 to seek a declaratory judgment in circuit court to void the contract.
    “All of this could have been avoided by just following our ordinances, which are crystal clear,” Glickstein said. “This was a terrible decision. It’s important for this commission to right that wrong.”
    Commissioners contracted with Coral Gables government law attorney Jaime Cole to advise whether they could get the judgment.
    “I think we have a very significant chance of prevailing, but that’s not a guarantee,” Cole reported back at the June 18 meeting.
    Cole said he knows of no other city that didn’t seek competitive bids before contracting with a garbage hauler. Competitive bids are required in Delray Beach for any purchase over $15,000.
    “You are required to follow your code,” Cole said. “Therefore, you needed to bid this out.”
    Current Commissioners Adam Frankel and Angeleta Gray had voted to give Waste Management the no-bid contract last August. Sparks flew at the June 18 meeting when Glickstein criticized that vote.
    “I don’t know whether it was arrogance or stupidity,” the mayor said.
    “Mr. Mayor, you just called me stupid,” Frankel shot back.
    “I guess the better word was ‘incompetence,’” Glickstein replied.
    Frankel was the lone vote against in the commission’s 4-1 vote to seek a declaratory judgment to undo the contract.
    Commissioners last year justified the no-bid contract by saying that the city has never received a complaint against Waste Management from a resident.
    Peter Sachs, an attorney representing Waste Management, stood to say the garbage hauler will argue that its contract is valid.
    “It looks like we’re heading toward litigation,” City Attorney Brian Shutt said.