Garbage Collection Saga
The City of Gary is attempting to outsource garbage collection to Allied Waste, and to impose a fee on every household to pay for this service. The MCC objects to the added fee as a tax increase, and has sued the city on two counts: the contract with Allied was not submitted for public bids and the fee may not be levied without the approval of the Gary Common Council.
Last November, the City submitted a brief to Judge Webber which stated that no fee would be collected until it had been approved by the City Council. The judge foolishly assumed that the city would do what it said.
In February, the judge ruled that the Allied contract was null and void, but his ruling made no mention of the fee issue. In March, the judge affirmed that the city could collect a garbage fee if it was approved by the Council. Only when the MCC requested that the city be held in contempt did the judge learn that residents were being billed for the garbage fee, even though it had not been approved by the Council. At this point, the judge was not happy. He issued a further order on May 26, finding the city in contempt and awarding the MCC $7,500 toward the payment of lawyers’ fees. In addition, the city must refund any garbage collection fees which have been paid, and must eliminate the fee from their billings unless and until it is approved by the Common Council. The various parties must appear in court again on July 9.
In the meantime, the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission has continued, indefinitely, its order prohibiting the water company from disconnecting customers who fail to pay the garbage fee. It also ordered the Sanitary District to include a statement with its bills, indicating that water would not be turned off. It is not known at this time if they have complied.
The City of Gary has reacted to all of these rulings in ways which guarantee there will be further court proceedings. As ordered, the city has publicly solicited bids for the garbage collection service, but has written the specifications so that only Allied Waste could qualify. Next, the City Council is considering a fee ordinance which would be retroactive to January 23, 2009, even though there is no contract to determine the cost of the service the fee would support.
A large number of citizens, mostly MCC members, attended the council finance committee hearing on May 26, to oppose the proposed garbage fee. Opponents of the fee are also urged to attend the City Council meeting on June 2 to continue the protest. In addition, the MCC has notified all the council members that we plan to sue if they pass the proposed ordinance.
MCC members have also noted that the proposed fee is a “soak the poor” tax, where every household pays the same amount regardless of their means. At the same time, we are firing Gary residents who previously per-formed this function and hiring outsiders to do the work. In addition, we have observed that the city still has 15 garbage trucks, which could be put back in service at little cost, so that NOT contracting out the garbage collection function is an attractive alternative, for anyone who is not profiting from the Allied Waste contract.
Finally, despite all the legal developments, the city was still sending out bills for the garbage fee, as recently as May 25. TO BE CONTINUED.
P.S.: If you have any problems with Allied Waste garbage collection services, call Jerome Prince at 712-0933. Our county councilman is now working for Allied. For problems with recycling, call 977-0918 or General Services at 882-8445.
Story posted: 6/19/2009
The City of Gary is attempting to outsource garbage collection to Allied Waste, and to impose a fee on every household to pay for this service. The MCC objects to the added fee as a tax increase, and has sued the city on two counts: the contract with Allied was not submitted for public bids and the fee may not be levied without the approval of the Gary Common Council.
Last November, the City submitted a brief to Judge Webber which stated that no fee would be collected until it had been approved by the City Council. The judge foolishly assumed that the city would do what it said.
In February, the judge ruled that the Allied contract was null and void, but his ruling made no mention of the fee issue. In March, the judge affirmed that the city could collect a garbage fee if it was approved by the Council. Only when the MCC requested that the city be held in contempt did the judge learn that residents were being billed for the garbage fee, even though it had not been approved by the Council. At this point, the judge was not happy. He issued a further order on May 26, finding the city in contempt and awarding the MCC $7,500 toward the payment of lawyers’ fees. In addition, the city must refund any garbage collection fees which have been paid, and must eliminate the fee from their billings unless and until it is approved by the Common Council. The various parties must appear in court again on July 9.
In the meantime, the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission has continued, indefinitely, its order prohibiting the water company from disconnecting customers who fail to pay the garbage fee. It also ordered the Sanitary District to include a statement with its bills, indicating that water would not be turned off. It is not known at this time if they have complied.
The City of Gary has reacted to all of these rulings in ways which guarantee there will be further court proceedings. As ordered, the city has publicly solicited bids for the garbage collection service, but has written the specifications so that only Allied Waste could qualify. Next, the City Council is considering a fee ordinance which would be retroactive to January 23, 2009, even though there is no contract to determine the cost of the service the fee would support.
A large number of citizens, mostly MCC members, attended the council finance committee hearing on May 26, to oppose the proposed garbage fee. Opponents of the fee are also urged to attend the City Council meeting on June 2 to continue the protest. In addition, the MCC has notified all the council members that we plan to sue if they pass the proposed ordinance.
MCC members have also noted that the proposed fee is a “soak the poor” tax, where every household pays the same amount regardless of their means. At the same time, we are firing Gary residents who previously per-formed this function and hiring outsiders to do the work. In addition, we have observed that the city still has 15 garbage trucks, which could be put back in service at little cost, so that NOT contracting out the garbage collection function is an attractive alternative, for anyone who is not profiting from the Allied Waste contract.
Finally, despite all the legal developments, the city was still sending out bills for the garbage fee, as recently as May 25. TO BE CONTINUED.
P.S.: If you have any problems with Allied Waste garbage collection services, call Jerome Prince at 712-0933. Our county councilman is now working for Allied. For problems with recycling, call 977-0918 or General Services at 882-8445.
Story posted: 6/19/2009
