1. Outsourcing Solid Waste Collection

2. Outsourcing Solid Waste Collection

3. Outsourcing Solid Waste Collection
Background
Smaller town outside of major metropolitan area
31,000 people
9,000 houses
150 Small business
Public Works has 33 people and $6M budget. Roughly $1.6M of that is for solid waste
Smaller town outside of major metropolitan area
31,000 people
9,000 houses
150 Small business
Public Works has 33 people and $6M budget. Roughly $1.6M of that is for solid waste
Had successfully contracted with Republic for 20 years on a 5-year renewal basis
Happy with service
Calls were overwhelming Town staff
Wanted to be good fiscal stewards of the public’s money
100,000 contacts per month with less than 10 complaints

4. Outsourcing Solid Waste Collection
Process
What was important?
Service
Contractor had to take load off of staff
Cost
Intangibles
Who were the Stakeholders?
Citizens
Elected officials
Environmental Advisory Committee
Staff
Process
Request for Qualifications (RFQ)
Shortlist for Request for Proposal (RFP)- task or performance based
Presentations for top candidates
Negotiation
One of the largest call generators to a municipality is solid waste
Intangibles- partnership
Performance-based RFP

5. Outsourcing Solid Waste Collection
RFP Process
Sent out RFQ to 20 vendors
Sent RFP to top four
Weekly pick up of trash, yard waste and bulky items (call-in)
Bi-weekly pick up of recyclables
Call center to receive customer calls
Level of service
Cost breakdown
Asked top two for presentations to committee
Sent out RFQ to 20 vendors
Sent out RFQ to 20 vendors
Sent RFP to top four
Weekly pick up of trash, yard waste and bulky items (call-in)
Bi-weekly pick up of recyclables
Call center to receive customer calls
Level of service
Cost breakdown
Sent out RFQ to 20 vendors
Sent RFP to top four
Weekly pick up of trash, yard waste and bulky items (call-in)
Bi-weekly pick up of recyclables
Call center to receive customer calls
Level of service
Cost breakdown
Asked top two for presentations to committee
Based on proposals and presentation, brought recommendation to Board
RFQ sent out a year before contract was up
Only received 4 responses (did receive a call a year later from someone who hadn’t responded asking whether we were interested in changing providers)

6. Outsourcing Solid Waste Collection
Results
What was important?
Service
Contractor had to take load off of staff
Cost
Intangibles
Service has remained at a high level although we have had some issues. Contractor has been very responsive to fixing most of them
Has taken a large load off of staff although we are still having issues with customers being given the wrong information
Cost was decreased roughly $300k per year
Still a good partnership with Republic

7. Pros and Cons of Outsourcing
Outsourcing Solid Waste Collection
Pros and Cons of Outsourcing
Pros
Don’t have to have additional staff
Don’t need equipment and associated maintenance
Don’t have to directly handle issues (hydraulic leak cleanups, customer service, employee issues)
Pros
Don’t have to have additional staff
Don’t need equipment and associated maintenance
Don’t have to directly handle issues (hydraulic leak cleanups, customer service, employee issues)
Cons
Aren’t as intimate with the daily operations. Not the first to hear about issues. Only hear once it becomes a major problem
Residents sometimes given incorrect information
Sometimes poor communication
Don’t have direct control of drivers
Don’t have the profit center