Ballwin Gives Allied 10 Year, No-Bid Contract

The on Monday voted to give Allied Waste, the city’s trash collection service provider, a 10-year contract with the city, despite criticism from residents, other waste collectors and dissenting aldermen who said other companies should be allowed to bid on the multi-million dollar deal.

Prior to the vote, Alderman Shamed Dogan pointed out that the City of Ballwin has not put its trash services out to bid since 1995.

The length of , he said, have prevented the city from finding cheaper providers, and from discovering new services or concessions that could be incorporated into a future deal.

“I think we’re doing our residents a disservice if we extend this out 10 years,” Dogan said. “At that point, it will have been 27 years since this contract will have been bid. So to that, I’ll just say that if we can’t bid it out now, when will we ever? Are we just going to give them a de facto monopoly on this service?”

When Must Providers Compete for a Contract?
The Ballwin Code of Ordinances states that any contract worth $10,000 or more must be advertised in a local newspaper, which would allow suppliers or service providers to place a bid on the proposal. The city code also states, however, that the board may waive bidding requirements if “it is beneficial or expeditious to the city to do so,” or if only one supplier or business is capable of providing the sought after services, sometimes referred to as a “sole source” contract.

“It’s not completely clear whether or not those apply either since it’s not the City of Ballwin purchasing this contract or these services,” City Attorney Robert E. Jones told the board Monday in regards to the fees paid by taxpayers. “But I’m assuming for the purposes of this discussion that it does apply, simply because the City of Ballwin is (issuing) some services as a result of this contract.”

The City also must seeks bids for any purchase of $1,000 or more, though not necessarily through advertisements.

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The decision not to put Ballwin’s trash service out to bid also follows criticism from residents regarding the Allied deal and from former Alderman Ron Markland regarding the city’s use of public contracts. In a published on Patch, Markland expanded on earlier remarks concerning possible misuse of “sole source” contracts.

“At the last meeting I took exception to having the police use as a sole source one (particular) supplier,” Markland wrote. “Their main defense was that it might be more difficult to get the uniforms and they could purchase them ‘within the budget’ from that firm … Are we taking steps to impose 'cost controls' on the city? I firmly think not."

Details on the Deal
The contract approved Monday includes annual fee increases for customers of 1 and 1.5 percent, which would continue until the contract expires at the end of 2022. The deal partially replaces the city’s previous contract, which would have expired in 2015 with 4 percent fee increases for homeowners annually.

Alderman Frank Fleming said the contract with Allied Waste was competitive with the rates paid by other cities in the area, according to data provided by the St. Louis County Municipal League.

“I feel the prices we’re being given are not only fair and reasonable but also pretty aggressive,” Fleming said. “It’s my good judgment in this case that we have an opportunity to lock in some very reasonable prices. If you want to take the chance of going out and bidding, you’re also taking the chance that the prices will significantly go up.”

The newly approved contract also means a new pickup schedule will condense trash, recycling and yard waste pickup so they occur on the same day. Additionally, the new contract will —a service City Administrator Kuntz said only about 40 households in Ballwin use at an additional rate, which would align Ballwin with most local municipalities' once-a-week pickup, including Chesterfield and Creve Coeur.

Allied's Goal? 'Going Green'
The schedule changes are part of an effort to make pick-up more efficient through the use of automated, one-man garbage trucks, which presently handle about half the city’s waste pickup, said Tim Trost, Area President of Republic Services, which purchased Allied Waste in 2008.

The extended contract, meanwhile, will give the company more security as it plans to convert its fleet into natural gas fueled vehicles. The company plans to purchase roughly 70 trucks fueled by natural gas this year, and an additional 75 trucks over the next four years, Trost said.

When asked by the board about the expense of diesel fuel versus natural gas, Trost said the decision to change was driven by marketing, not the cost savings.

“After the investment, it’s not much,” Trost said. It’s more about the clean effect, about being green … and about changing our image.”

Per the request of Aldermen Richard Boerner and James Leahy, the contract will include an amendment stating that if natural gas costs diverge from diesel fuel costs, Allied representatives and the City may meet for cost renegotiations.

The contract was approved 5 votes to 4;  Aldermen Richard Boerner, Shamed Dogan, Michael Finley and Mark Harder opposed the proposal. Board members Kathy Kerlagon, James Leahy, Tim Pogue and James Terbrock supported it.