By Pat Hammert

A residential waste-hauling agreement penned Thursday with a new contractor might not prevent a utility rate increase, but it’s a slightly better deal than the city faced last year, officials say.

The city’s garbage contract had been in a flux since the contracted hauler IESI-OK Corp., initiated a rate hike in September. City officials had said then the cost increase should be passed on to the residential customers.

Instead, the City Council formed a committee to solicit proposals from other private companies. Oklahoma Environmental Management Authority, the trust that operates the county landfill, was contacted for a proposal.

OEMA’s proposition came in 97 cents per customer served per month lower than the next lowest bid for the job, which translates to an annual $60,000 in costs to the city. The next lowest proposal came from IESI-OK Corp., the city’s current waste hauler.

The interlocal agreement with OEMA is for five years and was approved unanimously by the Council at Thursday’s special meeting. It has yet to be approved by OEMA’s board of trustees, which meets June 8.

Councilman Paul Atkins said the deal’s a good one.

“It’s going to be a cost savings to the city, and we’re supporting our own landfill by going with the local vendor,” Atkins said. “I think this has turned out very well for El Reno.”

An IESI spokesman said OEMA can lower its cost since it doesn’t have to pay fuel taxes because of its non-profit status as a trust and its personnel costs will be cheaper because it will use inmate labor.

But OEMA general manager David Griesel said inmate labor from the Union City Correctional Center will be used only if suitable personnel to man the trucks cannot be found.

“The numbers we ran are using hired personnel, but if it comes to a point where we can’t find some, then we’ll use inmates. These are all non-violent low security risk inmates that are on works projects. OEMA uses them on special projects, like the bombing memorial marathon recently. They were used for setting up the waste collection at that event,” he said.

Neither Atkins nor Vice Mayor Debbie Harrison said residents should be concerned if using inmates becomes the eventuality.
“We have them in the neighborhoods now,” Atkins said.

“They’re working at the golf course and in public works. I have absolutely no qualms about that. We’ve had no problems with inmates and in my 28 years working in prisons, there’ve been virtually no problems. Most people never know they are in the community. These are not sophisticated criminals like people see on television.”

Harrison said public programs for inmates “have worked very effectively in many cities throughout the state,” and are cost-saving measures for municipalities.

Last year, IESI’s monthly cost to the city went from $6.88 to $9.65 per customer served. OEMA’s proposed charge per customer served is $8.68, or $1.80 higher than IESI’s previous charge to the city before its rate hike.

As to the overall increase in hauling fees under the new agreement, Harrison said the Council will need to review that fee with an eye toward passing it on to the consumer.

“I did not feel comfortable last year raising the sanitation fees to our residents until we showed due diligence in finding the best price. But the Council has a responsibility to look at the cost of doing business and making sure there’s enough money to provide the same level of service and to be able to pay our employees equitably,” she said.

City Manager Doug Henley said the city “absolutely” needs to pass the increase on to the customer.

“That’s something we needed to do last year, but the Council didn’t do it. Most cities set their fees on a CPI (Consumer Price Index) over a period of five years. And this city needs to do that,” Henley said.

IESI district manager Dwight Dicus said he understands the city must get the best price but he said he is disappointed in the manner in which his company’s proposal was disregarded.

IESI’s bid to continue the service was $9.95, the lowest cost proposal of five companies — Waste Management, Allied Waste, American Waste Inc. and Waste Connection of Oklahoma.

Through the negotiations with the city, IESI lowered it by 30 cents. But OEMA stepped in with a better deal.

“It was unfair that top companies in the metro attended the pre-bid meeting and then all their proposals were thrown out,” Dicus said. “Legally they had a right to do that -- and this is a competitive business.” Dicus said his concern now is relocating nine employees who live and work in El Reno.

Whatever the feelings, IESI has agreed to continue the hauling service until Aug. 31 to give OEMA time to buy trucks, polycarts and hire personnel. IESI will not, however, be able to conduct the August round of bulk trash collection, Dicus said.

El Reno is one of six cities in the county that is a member of OEMA, a Title 60 trust formed from the old Canadian County Solid Waste Disposal Authority.

El Reno’s OEMA representative Karen Jennings said the only reason for OEMA to exist is so its member cities — El Reno, Yukon, Union City, Piedmont, Calumet and Okarche — can be provided waste disposal at a fair price. OEMA has never been in the residential waste-hauling business.

“We felt like taking this step is fulfilling our mission and when you control the hauling you control the price,” she said.

She said she is in favor of the proposition and has no doubt the board will approve it. Gearing up for the operation means a large capital investment in trucks and polycarts. Griesel said they anticipate the investment at $800,000.

OEMA has the majority of the commercial contracts in El Reno using its own commercial front-loading trucks.

OEMA charges the city a landfill disposal fee of $5.40 per cubic yard. Under the new agreement, both the hauling and disposal fee are subject to a yearly Consumer Price Index adjustment.

Two years ago, the OEMA board was interested in turning over the operations of the landfill to a private solid waste company with the best deal in a long-term lease agreement. But the plans fell through on an arrangement that promised bonuses for each member city and locked-in fees. IESI vied for the contract and until just over a year ago shared office space and truck storage with OEMA in El Reno.