Dooley on the Run: Talkin Trash

Although it’s been just two weeks since St. Louis County lost its battle in the trash haulers lawsuit in which Judge Barbara Wallace ordered the county to pay out $5.9 million to three haulers, some high-ranking county officials seem to fanaticize that they will be granted a “second chance day” in court, that the court will overturn its judgment in favor of the county, and that they will all live happily thereafter, as if in a fairytale.

Now that St. Louis County Circuit Court Judge Barbara Wallace has ruled against the county, Garry Earls, the county’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) said that the county will appeal the judgment. Mr. Earls said, "I'm disappointed that the court determined that there was something about it that merited

Garry Earls

sending money back to these trash hauler companies. These were the losing bidders, by the way, for the trash hauler district contracts." Earls, who seems to be the county’s self-proclaimed legal analyst/law professor also said, "We think we have a good case for just overturning the whole judgment, and certainly we'll pursue that as far as we can go. Even if we do end up paying the entire judgment, the residents of unincorporated St. Louis County have still saved money."

Note that the arrogant county officials always seem to come up with a good line that they’re always saving county residents money even when they’re costing the residents millions with their bombastic mistakes. To coincide with Earls rationale, Patricia Redington, the seasoned county counselor, has repeatedly argued that the state statute did not apply to the county because it is a charter county, however courts’ didn’t buy that bill of goods from her either.

 In its case against the haulers, the county never presented any witnesses and the county also admitted that the required two-year notice via certified mail was never provided to the haulers, thus yet another instance of the county’s arrogance with regard to defiance of state law.

On the flip side, Jane Dueker, the attorney for the prevailing trash haulers has a different assessment of this contentious issue. Dueker said that “(County officials) kept saying the law didn't apply to them. They were wrong, and the courts found that they were wrong. They're still exhibiting that sort of arrogance now.” She also said that "This entire judgment was avoidable, completely, easily, cost-free avoidable." But, the county didn’t listen. And, they’re still not listening today. By appealing the judgment for damages, the county runs the risk that the trash haulers could be awarded even more in damages, as Dueker said that the interest on the $5.9 million judgment will accrue daily at a 9-percent annual interest rate, so the meter is running and the dollars are adding up.

  At every stage of the case the haulers tried to settle with the county, but their offers were rejected by county officials, according to Dueker. As such, Dueker said, "Before we filed suit, I sat there with Garry Earls and Pat Redington and said, 'I'm going to sue you, don't do this. Just give the notice.

Pat Redington

And they wouldn't do it. It's pretty rare that I see a legal case that is this one-sided, and they just keep stalling and stalling."

 Dueker also disputes Earls contention that the case is still open by stating that the Missouri Supreme Court has already ruled on the merits of the case, thus the decision with regard to the county’s fault is final and that the only remaining issue in question is the amount of damages that the county will eventually have to pay the trash haulers. Of course, the county will continue to stall and prolong the inevitable for as long as possible with any legal maneuvers at their disposal, but at some point they’re going to have to pay the haulers.

Bryan Barcom, owner of American Eagle Waste Industries and a plaintiff in the case, said "I don't want to sound like an excitement killer about getting awarded $593,000, because that's a lot of money. Don't misconceive that. However, no one looks at the fact that we lost $2.5 million a year for the last five years, and we are unable to grow our business in unincorporated St. Louis County."

Like many other St. Louis County residents, Barcom contends that the issue of the trash districts should have been decided by a vote of the people. But, St. Louis County officials and their advisors claimed that a referendum would cost too much money. Barcom counters by stating that “Would it have cost $5.9 million to put it on the ballot? "I don't think it would've."

Although this case is not completely settled yet, St. Louis County officials need to come to the realization that they lost this case and are going to have to pay the haulers. Therefore, the two key questions to be resolved are: When and How Much?

The complete news story by Gloria Lloyd with the Call Newspapers.

Trash Haulers v. St. Louis County: The Final Frontier - Showdown in the Missouri Supreme Court

One month from today, May 10^th at 9:00 a.m. in Jefferson City, the seven judges of the Missouri Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the trash haulers case (American Eagle Waste Industries, LLC et al. v. St. Louis County).  The subject case was the first of four lawsuits that were brought against St. Louis County as a result of the county’s controversial trash districting program.  The other three cases have since been disposed of by the courts with the county prevailing in all three cases (Buchanan et al. v. St. Louis County, Grace v. St. Louis County, and Weber et al. v. St. Louis County).  In each of those cases, the courts’ ruled that the county did not violate its charter or any state statutes, and thus was within its legal powers to implement a trash districting program.
 

In May of 2008, American Eagle, Meridian, and Waste Management, filed suit against St. Louis County for its failure to provide a two-year notice prior to the implementation of a trash districting program, as required per Missouri statute.  St. Louis County prevailed at the circuit court level, but the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Eastern District reversed the decision of the lower court and held that the county owed damages to the three unsuccessful trash haulers in their bids for a trash district. 

The appellate court remanded the case back to the circuit court to determine the amount of damages.  Circuit Court Judge Barbara Wallace ruled that St. Louis County owed the trash haulers damages totaling roughly $1.16 million, as follows:  $261,086 to American Eagle, $99,224 to Meridian, and $799,593 to Waste Management.  Patricia Redington, St. Louis County Counselor, subsequently challenged the amount of the damages, as well as the circuit and appellate court’s ruling, which resulted in the present appeal to the state’s high court.

After four years of meandering through the state judicial system, the legal question to be decided appears to be whether the county owes the three trash haulers monetary damages and the amount of those damages, if any. 

The plaintiffs, defendant, and amicus briefs are 93, 85, and 24 pages, respectively, which equates to a rather large time of reading material at 202 pages. 

Within a few months after the conclusion of the oral arguments on May 10^th, the Missouri Supreme Court will render its written opinion, which should result in the final chapter of the controversial trash issue in St. Louis County.  Regardless of how the court rules, the county trash districting program will continue to operate as is.  Residents in the eight trash districts will forever be forced to use the county “designated hauler” for each respective trash district, with the sole exception being those subdivisions that wisely “opted-out” of the county program being forever exempt to choose their own hauler(s). 

There is one final important point to note with regard to the 300+ subdivisions that opted out of the county program:  Never opt back into the county program, even if your subdivision chooses to contract with a county designated hauler at some point; the reason being that once a subdivision opts back into the county program, it can never opt-out again.  The county may not advise a subdivision of this little known provision; however, this is one of the many reasons for the existence of this committee and the Subdivision Trustees – St. Louis Metro Area website.    

There will be more on this issue as new developments unfold.  In the interim, check out Subdivision Trustees – St. Louis Metro Area (www.subdivisiontrustees.blogspot.com) for updates on this issue and others of interest to residents in St. Louis County.

Anyone interested in joining the protected e-mail distribution list should send his/her name, e-mail address, and subdivision/area of residence to gregporter@prodigy.net.

Please forward and pass this communication on to other interested parties, especially to those who do not have internet access.

Court Announces $ettlement to Trash Haulers

Judge rules county owes haulers more than $1.1 million

A county circuit court judge on Friday awarded more than $1.1 million in damages to three waste haulers who sued the county over the establishment of its trash-district program.

Judge Barbara Wallace ordered the county pay a total of $1,159,903.90 to American Eagle Waste, Meridian Waste and Waste Management in their suit that alleges the county failed to provide the state-required two years' written notification it was establishing eight trash districts in unincorporated areas.

Wallace awarded $261,086.65 to American Eagle Waste; $99,224.20 to Meridian and $799,593.05 to Waste Management. The haulers claimed they collectively were owed roughly $23 million.

They sued in May 2008 after failing to win contracts to exclusively serve the trash districts.

Contracts were awarded to Allied Waste, IESI and Veolia Environmental Services. Veolia last fall pulled its operations from the St. Louis region and transferred its trash district contracts to Allied.

Unauthorized haulers are prohibited from offering service to district residents.

Plaintiffs cited Missouri Statute 260.247, which states in part, "Any city or political subdivision which annexes an area or enters into or expands solid-waste collection services into an area where the collection of solid waste is presently being provided by one or more private entities, for commercial or residential services, shall notify the private entity or entities of its intent to provide solid-waste collection services in the area by certified mail.''

Trash-collection services cannot begin until at least two years after the date of notification, according to the statute, which was modified by the General Assembly in 2007 to include the county. The County Council approved legislation in December 2006 calling for the future establishment of trash districts. Eight districts were implemented by Oct. 1, 2008.

On Jan. 25, Wallace ruled the haulers were entitled to damages.

"The county's action resulted in a finite loss to plaintiffs of 40,000 customers for the statutory two-year notice period," she wrote in a Jan. 25 opinion. "By enforcing the exclusivity of its trash hauling districts, the county has effectively prevented plaintiffs from even the possibility of regaining those lost customers in that two-year period."

Read more in The Call Newspapers:  http://www.callnewspapers.com/

County Counselor Says County has won All Previous Legal Actions on Trash Issues

KMOX Radio reports that trash haulers have concern regarding the awarding of new trash contracts with lawsuits pending in the courts. Brian Barkum, of American Eagle Waste, is worried that legal action might force haulers to refund customers.

“Is St. Louis County going to be responsible for the money that is going to be paid back? If not, why in the world would anybody bid on districts that they’re going to have to pay back,” he asked at Tuesday’s County Council meeting.

County Counselor Pat Reddington responded there has been no court decision yet, and that the County has prevailed in all previous legal action. What? What's she been smoking? The County has lost cases and numerous appeals with the current issue before the Missouri State Supreme Court.

Barkum’s concerns stem from a lawsuit pending before the state Supreme Court, arguing that the districts are illegal.

Judge Rules St. Louis County Owes Trash Hauler Jilted in New Trash System

KMOX repoarts a St. Louis County judge rule the county will have to pay for the way it redistributed trash hauling contracts a few years ago — in violation of state law.

How much, is unclear at this point.

Judge Barbara Wallace has ruled that the county’s decision to eliminate American Eagle Waste from the trash hauling system — without giving American Eagle the required two years notice — cost the company 40,000 customers.

Wallace’s ruling says the county’s action resulted in a loss to American Eagle of what 40,000 customers would have paid to have their trash picked up for two years.

The exact damage amount could be determined at a court proceeding set for February 24 at 9:30 a.m..

St. Louis County Seeks ID of All Citizens Using Trash Services

At the County Council meeting on March 16, Bryan Barcom, owner of American Eagle Waste Industries, addressed the County Council members regarding a new provision to obtain a business license.

Mr. Barcom received his renewal application for his waste hauling business license and noticed that St. Louis County had added a new requirement to the waste haulers business license renewal process. This new requirement calls for a listing of residents, addresses, contracts, their start and ending dates, as well as the cost per household for the minimum level of service. It appears that County officials are endeavoring to track all county residents in regards to who they use for their trash services.

Barcom eloquently pointed out to the County Council that this requirement had never existed in the past and that he was not going to comply with this request to help benefit the designated trash haulers who were awarded the trash district contracts. Barcom concluded by asking the council members and county executive if they understood his course of action, but received no response, just stone-faced stares. You can hear Mr. Barcom’s statement to the County Council members by Clicking Here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYcMjUknISg

It’s very interesting and peculiar that the county has added this new requirement to the trash haulers business license renewal, especially since the county trash districting contracts will be coming up for renewal soon. And, it’s also interesting to note that this is only a requirement for trash haulers. Perhaps the county is setting itself up for yet another lawsuit.

There is another interesting video from Lee Presser on "Charlie and the St. Louis County Trash District". You can view this at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1w31YsK0sk&feature=related

The bids for the initial trash program were awarded in 2008. The bids are subject to review in 2011. It looks as if both the county and residents are positioning themselves to accelerate the battle. With three lawsuits still in the court system, questions about escrowing protested real estate tax payments, while the money is coming from a grant, the County spending $7.5 million to discourage smoking is a lot of money.

Green Park board OKs free trash pickup for three more years

City officials moving forward on new Gravois Creek bridge

Green Park aldermen voted to extend the city's free trash service another three years. The board voted unanimously Feb. 16 to approve a resolution that extends Green Park's contract with American Eagle Waste Industries through January 2013.

Under the extended agreement, the city will pay American Eagle Waste $177,888.60 for trash service from February 2010 to January 2011; $181,789.20 from February 2011 to January 2012; and $185,808 from February 2012 to January 2013.

American Eagle Waste will invoice the city quarterly, according to the agreement.

County Trash Program Unenforceable; Trash Districts Open to All

Brian Barcom of American Eagle Waste Co. says his company intends to ignore St. Louis County’s new trash program's rules and offer his services to anyone who wants them. The County previously shut out his company along with more than a dozen others from collecting trash in designated areas in the County.

County Counselor, Patricia Redington, conceded there is nothing the county can do to stop American Eagle Waste Co. and other haulers — or any residents who wants to use other companies to haul their trash.

The county's program was established after residents in unincorporated areas complained about multiple hauling companies serving the same neighborhoods. Through bidding, the county selected a single hauler for each of eight districts except in subdivisions that opted out of the program.

Barcom's comments were precipitated by his appearance earlier Tuesday at the Missouri Court of Appeals in St. Louis. He and two other waste haulers who lost out in the bidding process, Meridian Waste Services and Waste Management of Missouri, alleged the county failed to give haulers two years' notice of the new program as required by law.

Redington told the court that the rules do not prevent any of the haulers from going back and getting our customers, Barcom said. "And she said no one could be prosecuted." Barcom said he would begin contacting former clients to offer to haul for them again.

From the inception of the plan, about 18 months ago, county administrators had asserted that its success depended on the full participation of all residents who had not opted out. Unfortunately over 310 subdivisions saw right through the program and chose to opt out. As one representative said, “It’s like passing a law but permitting subdivisions not to comply, if they just ask. It’s just plain dumb.”

After the meeting, Redington defended the program as offering "the best price and best service." She admitted, however, that the program had no provision for enforcement. This is amazing that the county approved a major piece of legislation with no provision for enforcement. Who’s responsible for this? Somebody is. Things like this just don’t happen out of clear air. Now the finger pointing begins.“

We never said we were going to prosecute anyone who didn't participate," she said. Unfortunately, officials said on numerous occasions at county sponsored meetings that the county was prepared to enforce the regulation with notices, liens, judgments, prosecution and even jail.

The county admits their program has no teeth. People can ignore it and hire anyone they want, and there's nothing the county can do about it. In the meantime, more than $1 million dollars of county resident’s money has gone into this program and it’s still growing.

Overhead expenses include county employee salaries, meetings (too many to count), travel (mileage, meals), overtime pay, trash bins ($400,000+), county council meetings, subdivision trustee meetings (in the thousands), supplies, postage, and more plus expenses incurred by the various trash companies.

..

Lawsuit Making Its Way Through the Legal System

Two residents and a waste hauler filed a lawsuit the end of August against St. Louis County that seeks voter approval of eight trash districts established in unincorporated areas. They say the trash districts were improperly established because they were not approved by the voters of each district as required by the County Charter.

American Eagle Waste Industries along with south county resident, Brett Buchanan, and north county resident, Greg Porter, filed suit Aug. 22 in St. Louis County Circuit Court. They allege in the suit that the county "has directly violated the command of its own governing charter by imposing upon its citizens in unincorporated areas a mandatory trash-district program and service charge without an authorizing vote by the citizens in each district, as required by the charter.”

(Attorney Lester Stuckmeyer addresses reporters. From left, are: Bryan Barcom of American Eagle Waste, Greg Porter of north county and Brett Buchanan of south county. Click on Photo to enlarge)

County officials have denied claims that trash districts must be created by a vote of the people in each district. Attorney Lester Stuckmeyer along with fellow attorney Robert Schultz, now is representing American Eagle, Buchanan and Porter in their suit against the county.

The county has established eight trash districts in unincorporated areas with one trash hauler per district. While one district already has been implemented in north-central St. Louis County, the seven remaining districts will take effect Oct. 1 in unincorporated areas. A total of 311 subdivisions — or 26.92 percent of total households in unincorporated areas — petitioned the county to opt out of trash districts.

County officials contend that having one hauler per district will result in a more uniform brand of service and lower prices.

Some waste haulers and residents have criticized the move because county officials also have stated that districts likely would force some small haulers out of business due to a lack of competition.

American Eagle owner Bryan Barcom estimates that his company will lose "60 to 65 percent" of more than 22,000 households under contract in St. Louis County when the seven remaining trash districts are effective. He believes this will result in a $3 million annual loss for his company. With these factors in mind, Barcom said he entered into this lawsuit "to save our business and to ensure that our employees have a place of employment."

American Eagle joined with two other waste haulers to file a previous lawsuit this year against the county, but the Missouri Supreme Court rejected those haulers' request for a writ of mandamus. This came after American Eagle, Meridian Waste Services and Waste Management of Missouri appealed a June 25 dismissal from Circuit Court Judge Steven H. Goldman.

The Eastern District of the Missouri Court of Appeals on June 27 also denied a request for a writ of mandamus submitted by the waste haulers.

Stuckmeyer contends that the County Charter requires voters in each proposed district to vote on their establishment. "If you look to the county and what their defense was on the first lawsuit, it was: 'No, no, no, the state statute doesn't apply to me. We're a charter county. We're a charter government. Our charter is the rule,'" Stuckmeyer said.

"Well, we're saying: 'Here's your charter.' It clearly states that if you create trash districts and in those trash districts you pay for them with a service charge, i.e. you have to pay the charge for the service, that each of these districts are required to have a vote ... So the county can't have it both ways."

When asked if the ultimate goal behind the lawsuit is to get citizens in each proposed district to vote on them, Stuckmeyer said, "That would be great. If tomorrow the county government said: 'OK, we'll put it to a vote,' I would accept whatever outcome came out of that vote. If the people in the districts voted and said they wanted it, everybody would be fine ... It's hard to accept that you're being forced to do something without having a say in it."

Until the county puts trash districting to a vote, Stuckmeyer maintains that the county is not only unresponsive, but "afraid of its own citizens."

"What does it hurt to give them the right to vote?" Stuckmeyer said. "What are they afraid of? They're afraid of stinging defeat in the face of opposition that they know is there. Look to the opt-outs just to tell you. They're afraid of the people. County government is afraid of its own citizens."

An online survey found 1 in 4 people regularly retreats to a spare room or sofa to get a good night's sleep.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/personal/09/12/lw.sleep.alone.when.married/index.html

Lawsuit Filed to Stop Trash Districts in St. Louis County

Residents from St. Louis County filed a suit against the county in an effort to derail its plan to divide its unincorporated areas into eight trash collection districts.

The suit, filed in St. Louis County Circuit Court, alleges that the plan violates a county charter provision requiring a vote of the people. The county hired a single hauler for each of 8 trash districts, except in subdivisions that opted out.

The program has been operation in the 3rd District, in north central St. Louis County, since last month. It is due to begin in October for the other seven districts. Attorneys Lester Stuckmeyer and Robert Schultz filed the suit on behalf of several plaintiffs from unincorporated areas of the county.

A trash hauler, American Eagle Waste Industries, joined in the suit. American Eagle was among a group of trash haulers that filed a lawsuit in May seeking to stop the plan. A judge tossed that suit out of court.

Judge Throws Out Trash Suit

A lawsuit filed last month against St. Louis County to stop the county's trash program was thrown out by a St. Louis County Circuit Court Judge. The suit stated the county failed to give haulers two year's notice as required by state law. Circuit Judge Steven H. Goldman ruled that the county ordinance takes precedence over the state statute.

American Eagle Waste Co., said all three haulers would appeal. The county's trash plan was established after residents in unincorporated areas complained about multiple hauling companies serving the same neighborhoods.

The county selected a single hauler for each district except in subdivisions that opted out of the program. Residents in these subdivision report that they are being gouged by the trash haulers since they are not a part of the County's trash district. Rates quoted are upwward to 75% higher.
County Executive Charlie Dooley hailed the judge's ruling on Wednesday as a "victory for all residents." "We're saving people money and giving them good service," he said. As one county resdient said, "Dooley is missing the point again. It's not a question of "money" but "freedom of choice."

St. Louis County Council approved two more contracts with:

— IESI in District 2, which covers the Spanish Lake area. IESI's monthly charge for the basic service would rise from $12.03 in the first year to $13.07 in the third.

— Veolia Environmental Services in District 4 in southwestern St. Louis County. Its monthly charge would be $12.25 in the first year, rising to $13.25 in the third.

Last week, Aspen Waste Systems, which had won the contracts to serve Districts 6 and 8, withdrew its bids, citing what it said were economic risks posed by the lawsuit.

County officials said they would ask the County Council to award contracts to the next lowest bidders, Allied Waste Co. in District 6 and IESI in District 8. The districts include Lemay, Mehlville and Oakville.

The Amazing Waste of St. Louis County

The following are excerpts from a very interesting article from "St. Louis Magazine" June 2008. You may want to skip the sections below and go direct to the entire article on the web site at: http://tinyurl.com/4gkdhe

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Trash has always been an ugly nuisance to be left at the curb and dealt with by someone else, but a hot mess of controversy in the county has thrown it right back in everyone's face. And what a crazy, complex, fascinating mess it is.

Given the subject matter, "a mess" would seem like the most literary way to describe the state of trash hauling in St. Louis County, but then again, it wouldn't really be accurate. "An overly complex and multilayered system of public and private interests" might be more appropriate.

The county does not provide trash service of any kind. Its Solid Waste Managment Program, which falls under the purview of the Department of Public Health, has fewer than 10 employees, who spend most of their time conducting random compliance checks of trash haulers' trucks, inspecting the two active landfills and four transfer stations in the county and responding to your complaints about the guy next door whose idea of "lawn ornaments" more closely resembles household trash to anyone with a less creative interpretation of the term.

Because the county has no municipal trash system in place, that means it's up to its 91 municipalities to find a way to dispose of their own trash. Five provide trash-hauling service through their public works departments (Brentwood, Kirkwood, Normandy, University City and Valley Park), leaving 86 municipalities for private haulers to fight over. As of April, 75 of the remaining cities, villages and townships had contracts with private haulers to dispose of residential waste within their borders.

In some cities, like Frontenac, which contracts with Veolia Environmental Services, trash pickup is provided "free of charge"; "free," of course, being a relative term when city taxes are involved. In others, like Overland, residents pay Allied Waste directly, $53.88 every quarter.

Residents in the 11 remaining municipalities (Bellerive, Country Life Acres, Florissant, Huntleigh, Kinloch, Ladue, Riverview, Sunset Hills, Town & Country, Wellston and Westwood) can choose their hauler. And they've got plenty to choose from: 22 private haulers have a license to work inside the county.Until this spring, service levels varied from one municipality to the next: Some got once-a-week pickups for trash, recycling and yard waste. Others got twice-a-week trash pickup, once-a-week recycling and yard waste collec­tion if they wanted to pay extra. Some had trash and yard waste service but had to take any recyclables to their local recycling center.

Bryan Barcom at American Eagle Waste does think that any legislation that could ultimately put him out of business is, at the very least, unconstitutional. The bids for the first district were opened in late March, and the low bidder was Veolia Environmental Services, the waste-management division of an international company that operates everything from water-treatment plants to public transportation systems. Its bid for District 3 was $11.60 per month. Barcom says he's barely paying the bills by charging his South County customers $18 a month. "I can't bid at $11.60 and be profitable," he says. "It's not even an option to do that."

"We're going to make our best effort to make this thing work," he says. "The county enforces this great recycling program, and then they take a page out in the Suburban Journal that says, 'If you don't want this recycling cart, call this number, and we'll come and pick it up.' Why not take a full-page ad out and say, 'Please utilize this container to the best of your ability, because you will be charged for this service, whether you use it or not'?" He shakes his head. "It seems like they do everything ass-backwards."

Read the entire article at: http://stlmag.com/media/St-Louis-Magazine/June-2008/The-Amazing-Waste/

Homeowners Say They’re Unable to Obtain Trash Service Due to County’s Mishandling

Several new homeowners have complained they are unable to obtain trash service due to the County’s fouled up trash program. One new resident said he called Veolia since Veolia was the selected hauler for his district. Veolia said they could not provide service since they did not have any trucks in the area until October 1.

American Eagle declined service due to their current business load and pending lawsuit against St. Louis County.

The bottom line is “lots of trash” but “no service.” The one homeowner said he was eventually able to obtain service with IESI, but having to pay an exorbitant amount. “We’ll cancel as of October 1 and go with one of the other haulers."

St. Louis County Sued by Trash Haulers

Three waste haulers filed suit against St. Louis County to derail the county's plan to divide its unincorporated areas into eight trash collection districts. American Eagle Waste Industries, Meridian Waste Services and Waste Management of Missouri in St. Louis County Circuit Court filed the suit. The suit says the county violated state law by failing to give the companies two years' notice before starting the program.

The plaintiffs asked Circuit Judge James R. Hartenbach to immediately block the county's plan, but Hartenbach rejected the request.The county has hired a single hauler for each district, except in subdivisions that opted out. The program is due to begin in October. For the eight districts, only four haulers were selected with some serving multiple districts.

County Executive Charlie A. Dooley through spokesman Mac Scott, called them "sore losers." Said Scott: "Our lawyer believes we have done everything strictly according to the book in instituting this program, and we are planning to move ahead with it."

$10 Million And Counting: St. Louis County’s Trash Program

Estimates for the amount of money being spent on St. Louis County’s trash program are now in the $10 million range . . . and growing. The County Council approved a trash and recycling program in December 2006, however, 16 months later the program is still not in operation. The program continues to be a moving target with procedures, rules and start-up dates changing every month or two.

The last known start date was April 1, 2008, however, a pilot program was recently announced for trash District 3 to start July 1. At the same time, County officials say they will award contracts for the other seven districts in May, well before the “pilot” is completed. Observers are questioning if the “pilot” is really a “pilot” or if a contract has already been finalized for this district. The “pilot” hauler is Veolia.

As overall expenses continue to mount, the County Council and County officials continue to ignore the pleas and advice of attorneys, state legislators, trash company officials, subdivision trustees, citizens and others to halt the program until all problems can be addressed.

Expenses for the program fall into a number of categories. More than 100,000 recycling bins have been distributed throughout St. Louis County. At a cost estimated at around $40 each, the total cost is over $4 million. Thousand of the bins are not wanted by residents and are being returned to the County.

Some trash companies have increased their staff just to handle administrative functions such as answering the telephone to provide information to their customers. Many have purchased additional trucks to handle the recycling services that are yet to start.

Tens of thousands of man hours have been spent focused on the trash and recycling program. County officials and the County Council have spent countless hours debating the value of the program. Trash haulers have been training and adding staff and purchasing necessary equipment.

Countless meetings have been held by the county and subdivision associations. New organizations have been formed to oppose the program while others have been formed to track the news and information on the legislation and growing problems

State representatives have prepared legislation to cancel the program and are now spending state funds for their time and materials.

Bryan Barcom, owner of American Eagle haulers, urged the county to delay bidding for seven remaining trash collection districts until officials see how the first one works out. Barcom questioned the validity of the bid and the evaluation process of the county in selecting Veolia.

Barcom also questioned the competency of Veolia which was recently awarded the bid for trash hauling services for Trash District No. 3 located in the 2nd Council District. He noted that Veolia had lost trash hauling contracts with three local municipalities – Shrewsbury, Des Peres and Wildwood. He expressed the hardship this would place on independent companies to survive in this market with regard to the acceptance of the $11.60 bid from Veolia.

Mr. Barcom asked that the County Council not move forward with awarding any additional bids for trash hauling. He also questioned the lack of information available in the community to educate the residents concerning the Waste Management Code recycling requirement. It’s not uncommon to hear a county resident say if they don’t like the service provided, they will change to another carrier. Unfortunately, they will not be allowed to do so per the County regulation.

Barcom read a statement from Mayor Lowery, Mayor of the City of Florissant, with regard to the City of Florissant’s position on this matter. The Mayor has advised residents of Florissant not to pay any fees for recycling charges. He said the citizens of Florissant have been calling their city hall to complain about the trash hauling and recycling fees which were being mandated by St. Louis County.

Barcom related that he is still waiting for information from the Health Department regarding one of his three (3) questions he posed to the Health Department two weeks ago at the March 18, 2008 County Council Meeting. The unresponsiveness of the county on important questions being asked by trash haulers and subdivision trustees appears is widespread. This is NOT an insolated incident.

Doug Smith, a trustee in a Sappington area subdivision, says he has been waiting for a response on another matter regarding salaries of St. Louis County Police personnel. He directed a letter to County Executive Dooley on March 19 on this matter and specifically requested some type of a response. He’s heard nothing as of April 8.

Celeste Witzel expressed her concern to the Council at their April 1 meeting regarding the impact the trash districting will have on the independent trash haulers. She was surprised that the County Council has set up a program to force companies out of business.

Kurt Witzel, of Oakville in South County, inquired if there is a way that questions posed to the County Council could be answered in a public way, suggesting the website as a mechanism for responses.

He also questioned if there was a computer chip contained in the trash bins for tracking purposes. Dr. Gunn of St. Louis County responded that there is a barcode located on the trash containers for the Department of Health’s record keeping purposes. Unfortunately, a check of the recycle bins does not reflect the commonly used bar code but a computer chip device that can be used for tracking and identification.

The major problem with the County’s trash program is not the mandatory recycling or the increased fees to pay for the service or the minimum levels of service, but the forced used of certain trash haulers through use of trash districts. It fosters a move producing a monopoly. Residents should be allowed to select their trash hauler of choice and let the market determine the costs for services. Right now, St. Louis County is paying tens of thousands of dollars in man hours every month - with no end in sight.

Ten Million Dollars (and counting) is a lot for a program that’s not wanted by the majority of county citizens.

Residents Speak Out on Trash Plan

From having nothing three and a half years ago, Michael and Bryan Barcom built their American Eagle Waste Industries up to 16,000 trash removal customers with 15 trucks. Though they would seem to be at the top of the world, the Barcoms worry a new Trash Districts Development Plan' prepared by a county Solid Waste Management Task Force would put him out of business.

They were among about 100 protestors of the plan who turned out for a public meeting on August 9 at Abiding Savoir Lutheran Church 4355 Butler Hill Road.

Michael and Bryan Barcom worry that the proposal to create 20 trash districts in unincorporated St. Louis. County and award one contract to a hauler for each district, along with additional requirements for bidders, would push out small haulers. It’s conceivable that the same hauler could be selected for all 20 districts.

From having nothing three and a half years ago, Barcoms built their American Eagle Waste Industries up to 16,000 trash removal customers with 15 trucks. Brian Barcom, co-owner of American Eagle, said; "We're throwing an uproar because we’re trying to save our livelihood as well as the people that work for us."

"They're just trying to corner the market. They're not making it fair," Bryan Barcom said. Barcom was hardly alone in his sentiments.

Celeste Witzel, 49, an executive secretary who has become a leader of the opposition, said the proposal would put a lot of small companies out of business.

County Councilman John Campisi, R-6th District, an opponent of the plan, urged people to complain to the County Council. "It's something you need to get involved in," Campisi said. "I represent my area and my area does not want this kind of thing to happen," Campisi said.

The plan, available on the St. Louis County government web site, was drawn up by a task force led by the county's chief operating officer, Garry W. Earls.

In a question and answer period, some went so far as to talk about incorporating a new city in South County. The last time South County residents voted on incorporation, in the· mid-1990s, they voted it down sharply. "The way the county is pushing now, I would be one of the front runners for incorporation," said one person.

One woman, though, was taken aback by the tone of the criticism. "I'm really shocked at hearing the arrogant, mean-spirited remarks about county government," she said, shortly before leaving the meeting.

For his part, Earls said he didn't think the plan would hurt smaller trash haulers. There would be districts in which smaller haulers would be able to compete, he said. But they would have to show that they could provide quality service. As for complaints, Earls said there might be a lot at the beginning, but not in the long-term.

Contracts for two districts would be awarded in the first quarter of 2008, followed by four others' and then the rest in the first quarter of 2009. "We're really trying to work towards supporting the huge majority of people, but there always is some minority that disagrees," Earls said.

He said American Eagle may be the cause of the criticism in South County, because it feels threatened by the process.