City balks at trash contract

Charlotte City Council has killed a $29.3 million contract that would have privatized solid-waste services in east Charlotte after an impassioned plea from public workers.

The city had planned to sign a five-year contract with Waste Pro USA of Florida for trash collection, recycling and bulk-item pickup for 45,395 homes. The deal included two possible one-year extensions totaling nearly $13 million.

But council members cancelled the contract after hearing from city workers facing layoffs. More than 30 sanitation workers wearing orange uniforms attended Monday night’s meeting.
Many came with signs asking for mercy.

A Charlotte advisory panel had recommended outsourcing two of four city zones to private companies. Inland Service Corp. of Texas has the contract for west Charlotte through June 2010.

Sort of sounds familiar.

Waste Pro USA was the lowest bidder for the service that was set to begin July 1.

But several council members felt the savings from hiring Waste Pro wasn’t enough to warrant layoffs for 46 city workers, especially since most of the savings came from the sale of sanitation trucks.

The Waste Pro contract was estimated to save the city $242,139 over five years, plus the one-time gain of $461,135 expected from the sale of equipment.

City Manager Curt Walton said there were no assurance that Waste Pro would hire the city workers who lost their jobs.