By Margie Plunkett
Waste Management retained its contract with Delray Beach in a 3-2 commission vote that allows renewal for the trash disposal company, rather than putting the contract out to bid.
Commissioners made their choice at an August meeting in which they also decided not to allow further public comment beyond that already collected at meetings, online and via email over the last few months.
Out-voted commissioners wanted the garbage contract molded by forces of competition, contending that a pool of bidders would ensure the best possible value for what was called “arguably the largest contract in Delray Beach.”
“Let it go to bid. Competition will bring out the best in us,” Commissioner Al Jacquet said. “Our country was founded on this.” He and Commissioner Tom Carney both praised Waste Management’s service even while supporting bidding out the contract.
The victors justified renewing the Waste Management contract based on its many years of outstanding service, corporate partnership with the community and giving Delray Beach “some of the lowest prices in the county.”
“I can’t ignore a company that has put their shoulder to the wheel and done what they said they were going to do — and have been the wonderful corporate citizen that we never asked them to be,” Mayor Woodie McDuffie said. “I can’t take a contract away from someone who’s done this job.”
Waste Management representative Butch Carter reminded commissioners that the company had proposed to give the city $750,000 worth of solar-powered compactors in exchange for the renewal of its franchise, which expires in September 2013.
Commissioner Angeleta Gray asked Delray Beach staff to look into whether there are other ways that the money being spent on compactors could better assist the city.
Carter added that Waste Management’s community involvement was exemplary — and not required — including sponsorships of events such as the Garlic Festival and Fourth of July festivities. Waste Management has chosen to support the community because it’s a good corporate partner, he said.
Waste Management also charges Delray a competitive price, Carter said, explaining that if Waste Management used the rate structure in Delray Beach that it or its competitors have in surrounding cities, “Waste Management would make a lot more money than it does today.”
A comparison shows Waste Management revenue from Delray Beach at $6.4 million annually, the lowest of the eight cities in the survey, calculated by volume. Waste Management services 19,363 residential units in Delray Beach, 14,463 multifamily and 40,000 yards per month of commercial, according to the document.
Delray Beach was not required to bid out the trash disposal contract, according to City Attorney Brian Schutte. And Carter pointed out that four other cities, including Palm Beach Gardens and Juno Beach, have recently extended their contracts without calling for bids.
McDuffie said the decision caused great “concern and consternation.” He said the commission had been vilified because of a view that it was reluctant to bid the contract out. Others claimed McDuffie was in collusion with Waste Management’s Carter, he said.
Resident Ken MacNamee’s previous complaints led to an extensive review of billing and practices related to the Waste Management contract in 2010.
In a recent email to the Office of the Inspector General of Palm Beach County, dated the day after the commission vote, MacNamee asks what the office can do and when they can do it. The office replied that it doesn’t have the authority to prohibit the contract, but it can monitor it. It also told MacNamee he could work to have the state law that covers municipal bidding changed. Ú
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