Sunday, May 29, 2011
The dumping of the Weslaco sanitation services
Soon after the swearing in of Mayor-elect Mike Wise on June 15, 2010 the Weslaco City Council voted to enter negotiations with Allied Waste Services to explore amending their existing contract to pick up the public's solid waste.
Now one year after the City of Weslaco’s city commission voted to enter negotiations with Allied Waste Management to pick up the city’s residential and commercial garbage the men and women that took care of picking up the garbage became displaced employees and were later given the option to take an early retirement package.
“It seemed rare that such a tremendous money maker for the city of Weslaco was on their agenda as soon as the new mayor [Miguel Wise] was sworn in,” said Hector Buddy De la Rosa, the former mayor of Weslaco. “We had a very advanced system for garbage collection and over the years it was eroded and taken away from the citizens of Weslaco and eventually privatized.”
The City of Weslaco has been in financial crisis for the last ten years and after giving up their Sanitation services in June 2010 to privatization their general fund shrunk, employees were lost and the city has been bleeding.
Weslaco City Commissioner Rene Rodriguez said, “If we have the right staff, the right equipment, then there is no reason for privatization if we can do the job in house.”
Rodriguez said the department was making over $300 thousand or more a year and it had several employees that had been loyal to the city that lost their jobs.
Weslaco City Commissioner Rene Rodriguez said, “If we have the right staff, the right equipment, then there is no reason for privatization if we can do the job in house.”
Rodriguez said the department was making over $300 thousand or more a year and it had several employees that had been loyal to the city that lost their jobs.
Weslaco has had five city managers and at least four of those have had to oversee the possibility of privatizing the solid waste garbage collection since it was first introduced at the June city council meeting by then former City Manager Anthony Covacevich. Next interim City Manager Frank Castellanos helped preserve the sanitation services and in June 15 City Manager Leo Olivares was given permission to enter negations with BFI Waste Services to amend their existing contract to collect the solid waste in the residential and commercial areas of the city of Weslaco.
Former Weslaco City Commissioner Larry Cardenas said over the last ten years since he left office the city has squandered the reserve fund, we've lost good employees and the city doesn't have the money to pay for basic services its citizens deserve.
"They [city council] gave the contract away without going out for bids," Cardenas said. "That was a $2 million dollar enterprise fund and we're only getting $200,000 dollars in return for that contract and as soon as that happened we had to layoff all the employees."
Former Weslaco City Commissioner Larry Cardenas said over the last ten years since he left office the city has squandered the reserve fund, we've lost good employees and the city doesn't have the money to pay for basic services its citizens deserve.
"They [city council] gave the contract away without going out for bids," Cardenas said. "That was a $2 million dollar enterprise fund and we're only getting $200,000 dollars in return for that contract and as soon as that happened we had to layoff all the employees."
The City of Weslaco’s 2007 five year Fiscal Forecast estimated the Sanitation Fund’s Garbage Fees would have produced 2.8 million in 2011. In 2006 the actual revenue Weslaco raked in with the Garbage Fees alone was 2.2 million.
Discussions to consider entering a contract with Allied Waste Management for collection of solid waste services dates all the way back to June 2004. According to the December 7, 2004 meeting minutes, then Mayor Joe Sanchez asked if the city was amending Allied Waste Management’s current contract and City Attorney Ramon Vela said it would not be since Allied Waste’s Brush contract was on a month-to-month basis.
According to the Weslaco City Council Minutes on March 16, 2010 Commissioner Cuellar made a motion to amend the existing contract noting the City spent $200,000 to maintain the operation of the solid waste collection on an annual basis and the city would save on equipment repairs and purchasing equipment.
At the June 15, 2010 City Council meeting when City Manager Leo Olivares was given authorization to negotiate with Allied Waste Management under the terms of the current contract a rate to collect the residential garbage for the City of Weslaco and present the proposal to the City Council for their approval.
Former Commissioner Rene Rodriguez and Commissioner Jerry Tafolla asked to table the motion because of concern regarding the employees and to explore the benefits of privatizing the Sanitation Fund’s Garbage Collection.
“It should have been tabled because we didn’t go out for public sale,” Commissioner Tafolla said. “We should have allowed other companies to submit their bid.”
Discussions to consider entering a contract with Allied Waste Management for collection of solid waste services dates all the way back to June 2004. According to the December 7, 2004 meeting minutes, then Mayor Joe Sanchez asked if the city was amending Allied Waste Management’s current contract and City Attorney Ramon Vela said it would not be since Allied Waste’s Brush contract was on a month-to-month basis.
According to the Weslaco City Council Minutes on March 16, 2010 Commissioner Cuellar made a motion to amend the existing contract noting the City spent $200,000 to maintain the operation of the solid waste collection on an annual basis and the city would save on equipment repairs and purchasing equipment.
At the June 15, 2010 City Council meeting when City Manager Leo Olivares was given authorization to negotiate with Allied Waste Management under the terms of the current contract a rate to collect the residential garbage for the City of Weslaco and present the proposal to the City Council for their approval.
Former Commissioner Rene Rodriguez and Commissioner Jerry Tafolla asked to table the motion because of concern regarding the employees and to explore the benefits of privatizing the Sanitation Fund’s Garbage Collection.
“It should have been tabled because we didn’t go out for public sale,” Commissioner Tafolla said. “We should have allowed other companies to submit their bid.”
# posted by Raul Garcia Jr. @ 7:25 PM 
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