Big Garbage Savings Promised From No-Bid Folks
BY BUDDY NEVINS
The savings is huge — $440 million.
That’s the carrot being dangled in front of cities to sign a no-bid deal and lock in 10 years of garbage disposal with Wheelabrator, a part of Waste Management.
By any calculation, the savings is enormous.
It is realized by cutting rates about one-third under the new contract.
To put $440 million in perspective, Broward is just completing ambitious parks and libraries bond issues. The parks bonds were worth $400 million and the libraries were worth $140 million — both less than this promised savings.
And the savings could be bigger, according to Ron Greenstein, director of the Broward County Resource Recovery Board which negotiated the no-bid deal.
The $440 million is based on the current amount of garbage, not an increase expected with population growth and an economic recovery, Greenstein said.
I’m not going back on my earlier premise: No bid deals are almost always suspicious and almost always no good.
Without a bid, there is no way to determine what savings would have been offered by another company.
Could the county save more than $440 million?
Still, the Wheelabrator deal does promise a savings.
Remember that the importance of a promise is not making it, but keeping it.
If the promises become reality, Broward will spend considerably less for one of the most vital services government does garbage disposal.
Knowing government, I wouldn’t count on that savings in your pockets. It could end up padding the general city budgets.
Here is the savings promised each city over the 10 years of the Wheelabrator no-bid deal, based on the 2007 amount of garbage handled:
- Fort Lauderdale–$72 million
- Hollywood–$48 million
- Davie–$43 million
- Coral Springs–$37 million
- Sunrise–$30 million
- Deerfield Beach–$26 million
- Miramar–$26 million
- Plantation– $21 million
- Lauderhill–$16 million
- Oakland Park–$15 million
- Weston–$14 million
- Margate–$14 million
- Tamarac–$13 million
- Coconut Creek–$13 million
- N Lauderdale–$9.6 million
- Lauderdale Lakes–$8.2 million
- Cooper City–$7.7 million
- Unincorporated–$7.5 million
- Wilton Manors–$4.5 million
- Lighthouse Point–$3.8 million
- Lauderdale-B-T-S–$3.0 million
- West Park–$2.8 million
- SW Ranches–$2.6 million
- Pembroke Park–$1.8 million
- Hillsboro Beach–$860,000
- Sea Ranch Lakes–$240,000
Source: Resource Recovery Board; Figures are rounded up, thus will not add up to $440 million; Figures assume the same amount of garbage generated per city per year as was generated in 2007. Not all Broward cities are members of the Resource Recovery Board disposal system.
December 14th, 2009 at 11:05 am
Anything that Ilene Lieberman,Ron Greenstein and Eric Hersh are involved in is suspicious. Waste disposal and a bunch of dirtbag politicians has all the makings of Broward County’s next scandal.
December 14th, 2009 at 11:10 am
Smells to high heaven!!!
December 14th, 2009 at 11:13 am
What do they have…Crystal balls? How do they know they are getting the best price if they never checked other bids??? What a bunch of corrupt Broward bologna!!!
December 14th, 2009 at 3:57 pm
Good lord, you’d think the resource recovery board consisted of the old Sunrise gang of Effman, Feren, Klauber, Harlem and Scuotto.
No bid garbage contracts galore.
December 14th, 2009 at 8:19 pm
YouShouldKnow the new Sunrise gang of Wishner, Rosen, Scofield and Alu. Alu is the only one that hasn’t sold her soul to Ace yet.
December 15th, 2009 at 6:07 am
A good journalist would contact some of the other potential garbage disposal vendors and get their thoughts on the no-bid process and if they could beat the Wheelabrator price.
December 15th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
There is no way that anybody can predict what the costs will be in three years, much less 10 years. The cost of energy will be much higher and it will be passed on to the cities for sure. This agreement isn’t worth the paper it is written on, except for Wheelabrator who gets another 10-years of garbage disposal in Broward. This is just what we can expect from County Commissioner Ilene Lieberman and her posse.
December 16th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
Somebody should check the City of Sunrise Commission Agenda to see what garbage item was placed on it by no other than Rosen. I guess they feel like everyone will still be hung over after the new year and will not show up for the meeting. Green Know/Now whatever. Time is of the essence for Feeley and Wishner to get the Garbage Transfer Station approved, since two of Ace Waste votes are up for a vote in November 2010.