Editorial: Time for city to contract out for solid waste
Sacramento Bee Editorials
Published: Friday, May. 13, 2011 - 12:00 am | Page 12A
Last week garbage cans didn't get picked up on schedule in the city of Sacramento. Yard clippings piled up in some neighborhoods. As of Thursday, some city streets remain clogged with clippings that haven't been picked up for weeks. Miffed residents flooded city phone lines with questions and complaints.
This was not a job action by garbage collectors, solid waste officials assured us. In the words of City Councilman Rob Fong, it was just a "weird convergence" of forces including budget and staff cuts.
Those forces? Fifteen truck drivers are on modified duty, sidelined by on-the-job injuries; a half dozen or so called in sick, not an unusual number in the 119- member workforce; and 12 were on vacation.
Aware that staffing is tight, a few years ago the city tried to limit the maximum number of drivers that could take vacation to 12 at any one time. Local 39, the union that represents garbage truck drivers, objected and filed a grievance against the city. Last March an arbitrator ruled in the union's favor.
City attorneys are still reviewing that decision, but to comply with it Sacramento could be required to increase the maximum number of drivers it allows on vacation at any one time, thus exacerbating the staffing shortages that resulted in the recent breakdown of service.
Sacramento likes to think of itself as a model for the region, but on garbage collection and other services, it could learn something from its neighbors.
The city of Citrus Heights doesn't have to worry about union grievances or staffing levels or service interruptions. It contracts out with a private firm for garbage collection, an idea that Sacramento should seriously explore.
Private consultants conducted a review of Sacramento's finances and operations last year and concluded that its "solid waste enterprise is not on a sustainable footing. Getting out of the solid waste collection business may in the city's best interest."
Even more notably, the report states that Sacramento's "solid waste collection charges are the highest in the region." The city of Citrus Heights charges residents $21.73 for weekly pickup of a 64-gallon can, its median service. Sacramento charges $34.48 for that same service, almost 60 percent more.
Sacramento officials claim they provide a higher level of service, providing weekly recycling, for example, instead of every-other-week recycling that Citrus Heights offers.
But Citrus Heights' private contractor provides a slew of other valuable services that Sacramento does not – such as three bulky item pickups per year.
Sacramento once provided this service. It was called neighborhood cleanup, but it was discontinued in 2009. Sacramento now charges residents $125 to pick up old couches, pieces of lumber, and other large debris, a service that Citrus Heights' contractor includes in its basic service charge.
Sacramento residents pay the highest cost in the region for garbage service that is less than stellar, as last week's disruption demonstrates. At a time when the city is closing city pools and planning to lay off police and fire personnel, it should seriously study what its consultant has recommended – to get out of the garbage business and contract with a private firm.
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