MISSION VIEJO : Council to Vote on Trash Bid Proposal

Competitive bidding for the city trash contract may become law if the City Council passes an ordinance Monday that would put the issue on the November ballot.

The proposed law would require the city to take steps to obtain several proposals for the lucrative contact which expires in 1995. Under the new ordinance, city officials would ask prospective firms to submit detailed bids. The franchise would be awarded to the company with the most competitive proposal.

The current contract, held by Dewey’s Rubbish Disposal Inc. of Irvine, will expire in 1995.

The proposal stems from a running battle between the city and Dewey’s that ended last month with the firm agreeing to a $1.2-million rollback in rates for Mission Viejo households.

City officials claimed that the trash firm was overestimating the amount of garbage hauled from Mission Viejo, then overcharging families for the service. After Dewey officials disputed the charge, the two sides negotiated for 18 months before reaching an agreement.

During the process, city officials said they learned a lot about the waste hauling industry and trash contracts.

“This council knows exactly what to look for in a contract,” Mayor Sharon Cody said. “There’s a lot of new technology out there. You have to do competitive bidding to get access to it.”