Fair and Balanced-- The Facts on Sanitation. From Tracy Truppman

Dear Fellow Residents,

For the record – I wanted the keep Sanitation and the Medians in house. I have been a resident for ~20 years… too long to look  back J. I am disturbed about the total misinformation that is being presented and just wanted to list the facts and only the facts.

All facts obtained below are from the May 6 and May 21 meeting agendas and backup material which can be found on the Village website. Anyone can find this info.

In an effort to be equitable and fair to facts, not fiction, here is what I have summarized for everyone to review. You decide…

In House Sanitation

1.     Cost will increase from $572 to $770 (bringing staff to Miami Dade County Living Wage and replacing both trucks which are 10 and 13 years old which we currently spend $20,000 per year to repair).

2.     The issue of replacing both trucks: a professional public waste manager for the City of Ft. Lauderdale, Greg Slagle, was contracted to review our in house shop and figure out how to keep in house with better efficiencies. He reviewed the maintenance costs, and he physically inspected the trucks and equipment.  He concluded we NEED 2 trucks, NOT 1. He also confirmed the number of days the trucks would need to run - 4 days with 3 trucks  (2 new and 1 old). He also stated that we needed 8 employees (drivers and laborers) for sanitation only – 11 total employees with public works and roads. This cost is in the $770.

3.     The in house budget includes a 16% health care increase in costs based upon our actual renewal rate (and the 25% previously discussed was an estimate, but the actual quote from the insurance company was lower). The $770 prices has the 16% increase, not 25%, and only includes the 8 sanitation workers.

4.     If any of the 8 sanitation staff are absent, which does happen, then the other employees must cover from public works and roads.  That is built into the administrative costs along with administrative staff. Payroll must do time carts, finance must pay their bills, etc… This is how government budgets are structured and we have done this in the Park for many years. 

Outsource Sanitation to WastePro

                                    1.      There is an average savings over 5 years of the contract for each household of a guaranteed amount of $1500 – $2000 ($300-$400 per year)– even with the maximum annual increase of 5% (which is based on consumer prices index which currently is at 2 to 2.5%).
                          2.      Garbage pick up is the same – it is either bring it out or keep it your side yard in your own container (40 gallon max) – no change except if you want side yard, you need to register with the village – a post card will be sent out or can do it online. Garbage is twice a week (same number of days), but all pickups are on Tuesdays and Fridays.

                                  3.    Trash pickup remains exactly the same including the 4 quarterly Saturday pickups. You can put yard trash in a pile, in receptacles, or in bags-- the same as now and at the curb. It will be once a week on Tuesdays.

                                 4.    Recycling will change the bin only. You will be given the choice of a 35 gallon or 65 gallon rolling cart with lid. You will need to roll it out rather than carry it out as you do now. It will be once a week on Fridays. 

                                  5.    Trucks will only be in our Village 2 days a week, and for those interested, they will be "green" natural gas trucks in 2017.

                                  6.    Steve discusses the Waste Pro bid being artificially low, however, it should be noted that SWS' proposal was less than Waste Pro's. This is how government agencies work – Request for Proposal or RFP – bids are bids, and contracts are binding.

Our Loyal Staff

                        1.    We currently have 9 employees for sanitation, public works, and roads. Out of 9, we are retaining 5 for public works and roads. The budget that was presented and passed includes bringing back the maintenance of our medians J.  

                       2.   Waste Pro have agreed to hire all 4 staff that we would not retain. We kept the two men with the most seniority.

I am rather disturbed at the level of misinformation and destructive bantering that individuals are resorting to. Here are my thoughts – we need to continue to build up our reserves, and build fiscal sustainability. It is really refreshing to see fiscal conversations taking place. It is my hope that all of our community will be open to listen to one another in difficult financial times.

Please don’t continue to throw the commissioners, Village manager, and staff under the bus with misinformation and for doing their public service jobs. This is simply really difficult all around. Everyone is being heard – loud and clear -  it is just a really tough issue and the fiscal facts are difficult.  Remember, it has taken a long time for the Sanitation Department to get in this poor state. Blaming is easy – fixing is not.

You decide – but review the fact and not the rumor. Everything in this email/blog is factual.

  

Tracy Truppman