Wednesday, August 18, 2021

Read & Weep: Garbage Edition (Updated)

The Kingfish is working on a post about the proposed Jackson contract but it's going to take a while and frankly, time is of the essence since the City Council is holding a special meeting tomorrow.  But for WLBT and a few Facebook journalists, the media completely ignored a new contract that doubles Jackson's garbage fees while cutting services in half.  Posted below are the documents given to the City Council last week. 

(Updated) The Jackson garbage services contract expires October 1.  The Lumumba administration issued an RFP earlier this year.  FCC, Waste Management, and Richard's Disposal submitted bids.  The Public Works Department selected Waste Management's bid but the Evaluation Committee overruled Public Works and awarded the contract to FCC.  However, the Jackson City Council rejected the contract on a 4-3 vote last week. 

Jackson required all bids to include proposals for garbage service once and twice per week.  The Lumumba administration decreed all bids should include cost estimates for selling 65 and 96 gallon garbage bins to residents.  Customers will only be able to use containers provided by the waste removal company.  

There are some golden nuggets buried in the avalanche of documents provided to the City Council. 

*  Sanitation Services operated at a $2.6 million deficit in 2021.  The deficit was $1.6 million in 2020 after being "only" $131,582 in 2019.  The deficit was $2.3 million in 2017 and $2.8 million in 2018.  The million-plus deficits just happen to coincide with moratoriums on service termination due to non-payment of fees.  In other words, when Jackson told people not to pay their bills, customers listened and quit paying.  The collection rate plummeted to 58% in 2021. 

* The contract term is 6 years.  The city can extend the contract up to four years with renewals of one year. 

*  The contract is based on 53,860 customers even though the city admitted last week that statistic is inaccurate.  It was unable to determine the number of customers from its water bills, so incompetent is the city's water/sewer billing department.  

* The annual cost of the contract is $10,924,633.   That translates to a minimum $100,924,633 for ten years. 

* FCC's cost will be $16.90 per month per customer.  The bid will include making customers buy a 96-gallon bin.  Service will be provided only once per week.  FCC will provide much-needed illegal dumping collection.  FCC will be allowed to "index the price of the services" at the end of the second year

* Dr. Williams somehow estimated the cost per customer per month for the garbage bin to be $0.19.  Jackson settled for 96-gallon bins (p.7).   FCC provided an estimate of $3,638,475 for 96-gallon bins.  Yours truly has not been able to reproduce the figure.  Total cost, terms of 6 and ten years, 12 (months), and 53,860 were used.  The cheapest was $.56 per month for ten years.  Feel free to correct my math.   (See pages 8 and 9 below)

The other two companies included the cost of the bins in their total bids.  Doing so is industry standard.  However, the Mayor wanted a separate cost estimate (Does that mean someone else is lined up to provide the bins to FCC?) for the bins.  He said he could have disqualified the other two bids on that provision alone.  A perfect example of "spec-ing" a bid to favor one contractor. 

The bins will also include a chip that syncs with the chip on the water meter.  The high-tech feature will make service termination much easier and include accountability.  FCC will be able to determine whether a customers garbage was actually collected if a customer files a complaint, for example.  .  

 

* EBO Plans.  Only FCC submitted a "compliant EBO plan although Waste Management amended its proposal. 

* If readers want to dig into the weeds, the scorecards begin on page 11 below. 

* Councilwoman Angelique Lee and Councilman Brian Grizzell held town halls on the garbage contract this week yet for some reason did not stream them or post video. 

Page 1: Budget Deficit

Page 2: Proposal (READ)

Page 24: FCC proposal

Page 32: Dr. Williams analysis

Page 35: Evaluation Schedule

Page 37: Addendum to RFP


51 comments:

Anonymous said...

I just want to know if all the garbage has to fit in the cart/can provided.
If I fill up that can and have more garbage what would my options be?

Anonymous said...

The fix is in-

Anonymous said...

Not to mention there was no fee adjustment went recycling went away, so it's less than have the service for twice the pay.

Anonymous said...

I thought the $90 million water meter debacle would top it all but apparently the Mayor and his followers all agreed they could take incompetence to a new level. Want a new nightmare garbage contract? Here.....hold my beer.

Anonymous said...

Who is getting paid?

Anonymous said...

Who is this new company???

Anonymous said...

Actually, the contract itself doesn't "double the garbage fees" - that is a separate issue. The Mayor chooses to combine his increase in garbage collection along with his sweetheart deal to change the garbage collection to a new contractor.

Maybe we should realize that the purpose of this new contract is not just to sweeten the pot of the MBar and provide for its expansion, but as the Mayor's Chief noted - "what a beautiful site it will be to have matching garbage cans lining our streets", faililng to mention along the way that hidden in the garbage contract as it is being proposed for the 'favored vendor" (not the lowest and best, but who's paying attention) is that we will all have to purchase these expensive garbage cans. And, as best I can tell, all we can do with those we already own is to place them inside these nice new cans that will look so nice and pretty lining our streets for the automated trucks to haul them away - to some other dump than the one that Jackson owns and operates.

Garbage! The entire contract is garbage. But what else would one expect from this administration. But at least the MBar can expand - maybe JPD can locate its Precinct 4 HQ there in the new building complex; would save them gas and mileage as they have to cover the additional homocides.

Krusatyr said...

I emailed a letter to Hartley, hope others will.

The Mayor's preferred automated blue container system is worse than "half the service for twice the money". I have witnessed this system on long walks in Alabama several times.

The system has one employee driving the truck, no one is tossing garbage, Instead, a hydraulic grabber arm picks up the large blue container and empties it into an open truck, then sets the container back where it was.

Before and during collection, the whole street reeks of rancid garbage because the trash has cooked in a Southern climate for a week and because the top of the truck remains open.

This automated system does not accommodate carefully cut and stacked limbs, nor cardboard boxes nor additional bags of yard trimmings.

Waste Management has always provided dependable, couteous service and is a local business.

Krusatyr said...

@ 11:52 am
The Mayor's blue container system is a single employee driver with an automated arm that grabs and lifts the container to empty by garbage into the top of the truck.

There is no provision for limbs, bags of yard trimmings or large cardboard boxes. Possibly these last would be littered into ditches next to the street?

Anonymous said...

So far, I don't see where you are getting " half the service" for " twice as much" when I see a much needed "new service" added.

I appreciate the "damage to cart" question as it's the provider that damages " carts".

I think you might be missing why " carts" are desperately needed. I'm happy with that "increase" and have paid it before. Waste Management is brutal on large trash cans so time and expense erases out the increase very quickly. Waste company can buy " carts" for lots less than I can.

Too much garbage is not being collected under our current contract.

So, look forward to you sharing what you think a better contract would look like. But do price out the same quality and size of trash "cart".

Anonymous said...

1% sales tax increase, now the city wants higher trash collection fees, and a 2% property tax increase to pay for more officers, meanwhile the water isn't safe to drink and the potholes destory our cars. When does this failed democrat city end and get some republican leaders in to fix the problems?

Burke said...

Expecting automated garbage collection to work here is no different from expecting the Siemens meter reading system to work.

This would be another outrageous debacle. "Follow the money."

Kingfish said...

12:53: Excuse me, SIR!!! That is not true. You are not going to get automated service. There are still going to be hoppers on the back end. It's going to be semi-automated service which costs more and is slower.

The Mayor wants to ban the use of temp help for the garbage trucks. Why do you think FCC said its going to have 83 openings? WM uses around 40 hoppers right now. The Mayor was bragging last night how this is going to create jobs. This is not going to be a more efficient service but one that will cost more and cuts the service in half from two days to one day a week.

Of course, you don't say a word about the 58% collection rate which is the real culprit here.

If the current contract didn't cover certain items, then you add those in on the RFP.

Anonymous said...

11;52 - no problem, except for your thought that the can was going to "be provided" for you. It is going to be SOLD to you, I assume by the new company located in the back room of the MBar. And if you have so much garbage, I'm sure they will be willing to sell you one or two extra cans - more profits possible to help build the new arena.

Anonymous said...

@ 12:53

So let me set my coffee down and get this straight. You think doubling folks bill is cost effective in the long run because “the cost of cans” exceeds that number?

HAHAHAHA HAHHAHHAHA

That’s fantastic

Anonymous said...

Zzzzz.

Get off Chokwe’s dick.

Anonymous said...

Of course, you don't say a word about the 58% collection rate which is the real culprit here.

No doubt TRUE KF - Thanks for pointing this out

Anonymous said...

If you haven't moved out make plans now.

Anonymous said...

1:33 PM
When you stop sucking it, Melvin.

Anonymous said...

That’s all I need to know. A new contract that creates jobs, not a new contract that provides better service or cuts costs.

It’s so easy when the perception is that somebody else is paying. Or (in this case) that idiots are paying.

Anonymous said...

@1:10-Burke: very true, and yet Siemens meters work all over the country in other towns - wonder why?

@12:53: if, as you say 'too much garbage is not being collected under our current contract' is true, then hold the current contract holder's feet to the fire - don't double the bill and halve the service!

Anonymous said...

Job creation has never been so easy. Why don’t they just hire 30,000 more and just put it in the contact? Poverty solved.

Anonymous said...

Job Creation? Really? Ok, let’s go there…
How about we use tweezers and pick up each piece of trash out of the can? What a Grand and Glorious FAILURE! But think of all the Jobs!!!

My gut feeling said...

This contract is far more nefarious than what appears on it's face. On page 33 of 44 of the scribd document in this post, you will see Dr. Charles Williams questions to FCC that I haven't seen addressed or answered elsewhere in the document. And one of those questions, Question "d.": "Cost to maintain the RFID program of locating the cart to a house with an address and active water meter." Therefore, one can readily assume that the carts themselves will be "chipped" with an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) device that links them to the ALREADY RFID equipped Siemens water meters, that we know the City has had problems with using hardware/software problems already. Call it an "administrative gap" or call it the same "software problems" as the Uniform Crime Reports. We DO know further in the document in the question and answer section to others that the new company (FCC) will be provided with a list of customers, and that would most certainly be provided by the defunct water billing department of The City, once they get around to it. Right. So either Chokwe is handing off the collection of the water bills that include the garbage service to FCC, because they'd certainly like to be paid for their services, or the price of the contract is inflated so that no more than the current 58% collection rate of the water bills that include the garbage pick up is accounted for. Those that can and have been paying their water bills will continue paying for those that haven't. They'll just pay more. Sometimes you just got to go with your gut.

Kingfish said...

I mentioned the chip in the post. It allows them to turn off the service without having to go through the lien process.

Anonymous said...

You should not be allowed to vote if you don't own property in Jackson.

The folks who just "stay" in Jackson don't care about any of this, and will happily elect Choke again and again.

Good luck, Northeast Jackson.

The drowning man will always drag you under.

3:04 to Kingfish at 3:11 said...

I must have been reading over the documents and making my post when you updated the thread. So from your post at 3:11, are you saying the garbage cart is gonna snitch on you to The City for not paying your water bill, The City will then cut off your water meter because the garbage cart done snitched on you....and you are expected to not continue to put garbage in your cart to the point of overflowing it because the automated truck gonna just pass you by? Will there be a "garbageBgone" app to notify customers of when to retrieve your garbage cart and in essence "de-beautify" the street? Where was all this great technology when Harvey Johnson was Mayor? Don't you think he would have spent 10 Million dollars first on a study to see how many of Jackson's water bill paying citizenry can physically handle a 96 gallon garbage cart on wheels vs. a handfull of kroger or walmarks bags once a week? Snitchin' garbage carts! Whodathunkit?!

Anonymous said...

Dr. Williams did such a good job with his calculation that he has been removed as Public Work Director and is now the Chief Engineer again.

Anonymous said...

Dude is one one crooked stupid SOB. LOL, Imagine how bad this will be for a second....them think of Frank Melton.

Anonymous said...

" the media completely ignored a new contract that doubles Jackson's garbage fees while cutting services in half." Thought that was the norm for doing business in Jackistan.

Anonymous said...

Ward level "town halls" are a total joke. They don't even rank as CYA.

Belhaven, Virgi is about to screw you over and then hose you down. Congrats.

Anonymous said...

Any Councilperson who votes for the FCC contract just bought their defeat next time elections rolls around. Emperor Lumumba wear no clothes.

Anonymous said...

I'm sure this will be a highly successful program.

Anonymous said...

Marlin King? ROFLMAO Why not just give the job to Melvin? He's equally unqualified. LOL LOL No, wait, maybe you could make Melvin the Chief of JPD or head up JFD.

Lumumba, you are a total joke.

Anonymous said...

Someone needs to seek a restraining order against the city to enjoin it from entering this contract until such time as it has been read and explained and the beneficiaries have been allowed time to answer under oath their role in this scheme.

Anonymous said...

I am a short, old lady who lives with a sloping driveway toward the street. Will I be able to handle a 95 gallon trash can? What is my option? Will the Mayor's preference still pick up appliances at the curb? Or do we illegally dump them so they will be cleaned up? How often are they going to clean these illegal dumps? What defines a dump? Is excessive litter in an area a dump?

Antard Ladumbass said...

96 gallons of water weighs 800 lbs.

Anonymous said...

I thought the city was getting new water meters so doesn't this make the whole RFID bit soon obsolete?

Anonymous said...

Jackson continues full speed ahead to receivership. And the Covid tents went up in a parking garage instead of the Convention Center in order to avoid the Confederacy of Dunces in City Hall and three members of the City Council.

Anonymous said...

KF - any mention of yard debris? Leaves, fallen limbs?? How will that work? Is the city abandoning picking those items up?

Anonymous said...

Heavens to Betsy…wait a doggone second. I thought Marshand was fixing the water billing issues. Did he just get appointed to Sheriff and Water man all in one fail swoop? And, who is this Marlin character. Hear he’s got a drafting degree from JSU. What’s that? How is he going to fix the water when the Sheriff is already on it? Bravo should make a reality show out of this ordeal…I say I say

Anonymous said...

“ The bins will also include a chip that syncs with the chip on the water meter. The high-tech feature will make service termination much easier and include accountability. FCC will be able to determine whether a customers garbage was actually collected if a customer files a complaint, for example.”


Yeah sure. Ha

Anonymous said...

Follow the dollars. There is a $$ reason the Mayor is pushing for this contract so hard. If you wanna work in Jackson, gotta pay to play!

Anonymous said...

If Jackson were a foreign country, the State Department would classify it as a failed state.

Anonymous said...

A friend writes:

The solid waste fiasco, the non-working water meters, the uncollected water bills, the under staffed police department, and the pot holes have given the residents of Jackson (and those of us who work here) an up close look at real incompetence and the consequences of said incompetence. Our Mayor is in way, way over his head, but either does not know it or refuses to admit it. What will be his consequence or reward? I expect it will be elevation to Congress as soon as Mr. Thompson decides to retire and become a lobbyist. So the people of Jackson will send Mr. Lumumba to Washington so he may join the ranks of folks like: Cory Booker, Maxine Waters, “the Squad,” Ayanna Pressley, Bernie Sanders, and of course that pillar of intelligence Hank Johnson (the distinguished gentleman from Georgia who was concerned that Guam may capsize). If these are examples of the best and brightest of our citizens, and examples of people with high moral standards, and examples of folks who practice what they preach then there is no hope for our nation. I am depressed and frightened.

Anonymous said...

I wonder if the chips in the trash can will be stolen like catalytic converter's on vehicles in Jackson.

Anonymous said...

If having to show an ID to vote is discrimination, so is two weeks trash & a 96 gallon garbage can to frail older people.

Anonymous said...

Please contact your city council representative asap to tell them to vote NO.

Say NO to Pay-for-Play contracts like this one. How'd the last one with Siemens turn out?

Power to the People!

Anonymous said...

6:42 pm I've a decade on you and decrepit and have a driveway that sloped down. I'm also " short" and not buff but not fat. I already have a 95 gallon garbage can and have for over 20 years.

It's called a " cart" because it has wheels. The plastic is sturdy but light weight. The lid is hinged.

I had had one in Atlanta that was provided by the city. They were called "Maynards" because of the same furor I'm seeing on this thread that lambasted Maynard Jackson.

Now, there would be a revolt if you took the "Maynards" away. They are easy to roll around and in Atlanta, they didn't get thrown by some of the collectors like is done here as their employer had to replace them. My "Maynard" has suffered some cracks as a result, but as I said, it's over 20 years old and still useable. I even got it up the driveway after our icy snow last winter when the driveway was slippery still as it is shaded.

Government contract law is a specialty in the law so I can't begin to know how well or poorly this contract is written. But, there are lawyers with this specialty living in the city who could surely speak up as citizens if it's flawed if the Council invited them to before approval or surely the Council member who represents one or more of them could call them at home to get guidance " neighbor to neighbor".
Or, where is garbage service really great and how does this contract compare with theirs?

Fix the Pipes and Fill the Potholes said...

Please contact your councilman and copy the council to let them know you do not want half the garbage collection for twice the price (not including yard debris or boxes). They are meeting this afternoon and need to to hear from their constituents!

Ashby Foote Ward 1 - afoote@jacksonms.gov
Angelique C. Lee Ward 2 - angeliquel@jacksonms.gov
Kenneth I. Stokes Ward 3 - kstokes@jacksonms.gov
Brian C. Grizzell Ward 4 - bgrizzell@jacksonms.gov
Vernon W. Hartley Sr. Ward 5 - vhartley@jacksonms.gov
Aaron Banks Ward 6 - abanks@jacksonms.gov
Virgi Lindsay Ward 7 - vlindsay@jacksonms.gov

Anonymous said...

Perhaps the saddest point of all is that we can all see that this is a horrible deal for all involved (except Choke and pals) and it will still be approved, and it will indeed be a nightmare when implemented.

We can see the iceberg and we can warn them, but Jackson voters will blame someone else when the ship sinks (as we predicted) and Choke will go on to be a Washington Politician, applauded for being the savior of Hinds in a few years.

With no facts to support it, the narrative cannot be derailed.

And a new Choke will be easily elected to man the helm of the still sinking ship.


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