TERRELL, Texas — Trash collection is one of the most basic services local governments provide to citizens, and in Terrell, some residents and business owners say Terrell’s awarding of the solid waste contract smells funny.
TERRELL, Texas — Trash collection is one of the most basic services local governments provide to citizens, and in Terrell, some residents and business owners say Terrell’s awarding of the solid waste contract smells funny.
Terrell has had the same trash collection/solid waste firm since November 21, 2000. The contract with then IESI TX Corporation, now Waste Connection, has been amended and re-adopted nine times since 2000. According to the contract, it was automatically renewed for five years on February 1, 2006. Since then, it has been adopted with amendments every two years.
Waste Connection Lone Star, INC is part of Waste Connection whose headquarters is located in The Woodlands, Texas.
Terrell’s contract with Waste Connections is currently up for renewal. Glen Caldwell, Director of Public Services for Terrell says that the longstanding relationship with Waste Connections has been beneficial to the citizens of Terrell.
“Our long-term relationship with Waste Connections has allowed our waste rates to remain at a competitive rate that has been beneficial to our citizens,” said Caldwell. “Our current contract with Waste Connections is up for renewal and has not yet been approved by Council.”
inForney.com submitted an Open Records Request to the City of Terrell requesting the solid waste contract, all communication between the city and vendors, where the requests for proposals were posted, those who submitted bids, and all responses to those who submitted bids.
According to Texas Local Government Code, the city isn’t required to request a bid, but most cities do to make sure they are getting the best pricing and services for their citizens. The City of Terrell has not had a public bidding process for the Solid Waste Contract since the year 2000, according to records obtained by inForney.com.
In Terrell, some residents say this solid waste management company leaves much to be desired. Comments on the community Facebook page, “People of Terrell, Texas,” described the solid waste company as “awful,” and some stated that they “charge twice as much.”
While the City of Terrell has passed along a rate increase to the citizens, some of the many complaints shared in the community Facebook group state that Waste Connections doesn’t pick up trash timely and tears up bins without replacing them.
In response, Caldwell says that the city takes these matters seriously and employees have been terminated for unsatisfactory performance.
“When any customer input is received, our City Public Services staff works directly with Waste Connections to ensure these issues are addressed,” said Caldwell. “Trash cans have been replaced, employees have been terminated for unsatisfactory performance and crews are sent as soon as possible to pick up trash that may have inadvertently been missed. All Waste Connection vehicles have video recording systems with time and location data for tracking and accountability.”
Residents aren’t the only ones who find cause for concern about the solid waste company. Commercial business owners also state they’ve had issues with the City and Waste Connection.
Part of the agreement with the City is that any dumpsters used within Terrell must be from Waste Connections. Some say this is more expensive than using local providers. Currently, the City of Terrell is considering enforcing fines on contractors or businesses that use dumpsters from other vendors besides Waste Connection.
A local business owner, who wishes to remain anonymous, said that doing business with Terrell’s solid waste department is challenging.
“We already are required to use a Waste Connection product that sometimes costs more than a local provider. If they enforce fines, it will only exacerbate an already challenging work experience with the city’s sanitation department.”
Still, Caldwell says that all complaints are serious and deserve to be addressed.
“Considering we have approximately 5,000 residential customers and roughly 500 commercial/industrial customers, we do realize issues will arise from time to time and that some customers may have bad experiences,” said Caldwell. “We work one-on-one with customers and our contractor in an effort to resolve those issues to the customer’s satisfaction.”
Back to the contract and other bids, Caldwell made mention that cities aren’t required to post a bid, but staff has spoken with other vendors.
“Cities are not obligated to post a bid as long as they are continuing service with an existing provider,” said Caldwell. “That being said, staff has met with Republic, CWD and other hauling companies about possibly going out to bid and exploring our options.”
He continued by saying that other vendors have not indicated that they can provide similar services at a similar or better price.
“None of those providers have indicated they would be able to provide similar or better services at a better or similar rate structure. Staff continues to regularly monitor this topic.”
Though staff may have met in person with these contractors, the inForney.com records request returned no written or electronic communication between the parties to shed light on those discussions.
With a 23-year-old contract, many residents and business owners say its past time these quotes and negotiations with other contractors be done in the open, such as a public bidding process or request for proposal, to allow for public scrutiny.