New Trash Franchise May Mean 30% Rate Hike and Advent of Recycling : Waste: City Council’s new majority opts to negotiate exclusively with longtime hauler. Critics say the city should seek competitive bids, then decide.

Officials are negotiating a new trash collection franchise with the city’s longtime hauler that calls for citywide recycling and could boost rates by up to 30% for residential and commercial customers.

Negotiations were authorized by a divided City Council, with two dissenting members arguing that the city might get a better deal if it sought proposals from other waste haulers.

Some residents also criticized the decision. Melissa Mosley said she favored the bidding process “to see that funds are used wisely.”

The council’s recent decision to negotiate with Downey-based Calsan/Calbin Inc. is a sign of political change ushered in by the April election. The previous council majority had favored seeking bids. An outside consultant hired by the city had prepared documents requesting trash-hauling proposals.

But with the defeat last month of former Councilman Randy Bomgaars and the election of council members Ruth Gilson and Ken Cleveland, the new majority opted to negotiate with Calsan, whose current franchise expires July 31.

The vote was 3-to-2, with Mayor John Ansdell, Gilson and Cleveland voting in favor of negotiating a new agreement with the company. Council members Bob Stone and Bill Pendleton were opposed.

Cleveland said the company has given the city good service at fair prices for many years and should be allowed to negotiate a new franchise. He said there is “nothing to be gained” by inviting other proposals. “They all have to pay the same dump fees. When they buy a new truck, they have to pay the same prices,” he said. “We have a proven record with Calsan. He’s not going to gouge us.”

But Stone said the decision to negotiate was not “fiscally responsible,” adding that soliciting proposals “would allow us to find out if there are better haulers out there for less money. There are big companies out there that say they can do the job. How are we going to know? If (Calsan) is competitive, (it) has nothing to worry about.”

Calsan Vice President Mike Adnoff said his company has served Bellflower well for decades and wanted the opportunity “to sit down and negotiate on a recycling program. We feel we are just as equal or more equal than anyone else. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Calsan, which has held Bellflower’s exclusive trash franchise for 35 years, has submitted a proposal for an automated trash collection system that includes recycling. The proposal is designed to bring the city into compliance with a state law mandating a 25% reduction in the amount of waste being hauled to landfills by 1995. Calsan agreed to assume liability for up to $10,000 a day in fines that could be levied against the city if it fails to comply with the law.

Trash trucks would be equipped with hydraulic arms to pick up 60-gallon barrels. Two separate systems for collecting recyclables have been proposed, and one would be chosen during the negotiating process.

The proposal carries rate increases of approximately 30% for residential waste collection and 25% for commercial accounts, according to the city. Calsan rates currently are $9.05 a month for residential collection and $49.98 for commercial, according to the company. The city also gets a $15,000 yearly franchise fee.

Adnoff said he believes that through negotiations, the rate increase can be held below 25% for both residential and commercial customers. He attributed most of the increase to added costs of recycling. Calsan will have to invest $2.5 million in new or redesigned equipment for the recycling segment, he said.

Some critics have questioned whether Calsan has the ability to bring the city into compliance with the state law. They cite the company’s failure to submit a feasibility study for residential recycling of glass, plastic and aluminum in 1990 as required in an agreement signed with the city a year earlier.

Adnoff said the company concluded that such a program would not be effective. Instead, Calsan submitted a proposal for collecting grass and other cuttings from yards as “a steppingstone” to full recycling. City staff rejected the proposal, saying it failed to meet terms of the agreement.

Calsan and the city are aiming to have a new franchise agreement by Aug. 1, although new rates would not go into effect until recycling has been phased in.

The city estimates that the seven-year franchise Calsan is seeking would be worth $56 million in gross revenue to the company. Adnoff, however, said the amount is closer to $30 million. Calsan makes a profit of 4% to 6% on its Bellflower operation.

Gilson said she would reconsider her position against other proposals if the city is unable to negotiate a smaller rate increase. She did not say what she thinks an acceptable increase would be.