Keeping Walnut Creek City Hall Clean: A $1.2 Million Venture

How much do you get paid for taking out the trash? If city officials approve a routine item tonight on the City Council agenda, one company might wind up making an additional $124,000 per year to do just that.

The Walnut Creek City Council will consider Tuesday granting a two-year contract to Santa Clara-based janitorial firm Impec Group for a total of $1.2 million. If approved, that would be $248,000 more per year than the city currently pays two companies for the same service.

The city is facing an increase in janitorial costs in any event. The lowest two-year bid for the service was $1.1 million. The two companies the city presently uses each submitted bids for $1.4 million and $1.6 million.

Public Services Manager Rich Payne notes that the service will be responsible for daily cleaning of 32 city facilities, totaling  340,000 square feet.

At one time the city used its own staff of nine people to perform janitorial duties, at an annual cost of around $1 million per year, Payne said, which included material, labor, and equipment.

In 2010, it was decided it would be more cost-effective to hire out the service, and the nine employees were laid off. There is one senior custodian who now handles emergencies and works with the Building Maintenance Supervisor to make sure the contractors are doing their jobs.

Impec was not the lowest bidder at $1.2 million, but it did offer the best range of services for the money, Payne said.

“The lowest cost doesn’t always mean you’re going to get the best service, as we’ve learned,” Payne said.

The City Council meets tonight at 7 p.m. in City Hall, 1666 N. Main St.