Speedup Needed in Trash Case

Orange officials are making some progress in getting to the bottom of a recycling scandal, but with $6 million unaccounted for, it’s time for a little more speed.

The City Council announced this week that Orange’s trash hauler, which is under investigation, has agreed to put $1 million into an escrow account for potential reimbursement. That protects the city to some degree in a worst-case scenario.

The Police Department has been conducting a criminal investigation since mid-April into the suspected theft of city money related to the sale of glass, paper, aluminum and other material salvaged from the trash stream. It was as long ago as January 1995 that an accountant first warned city officials of serious irregularities in the books. A national accounting firm hired by the city later confirmed that finding.

Taxpayers understandably are wondering when things will bottom out in the scandal and why it took so long to get the wheels turning.

In recent weeks, more questions have been raised about the city’s judgment. For example, newly discovered documents indicate that the recycling operation is likely to cost the city even more than anticipated. Records showed that the operation will need an additional $17.5-million city investment to meet state-ordered reductions in the tonnage of municipal waste dumped in state landfills.

Didn’t anybody recognize this earlier? City officials now find themselves in the awkward position of explaining why it never occurred to them that the city’s recycling facility wouldn’t be able to achieve state recycling mandates. To compound the embarrassment, at one point it was revealed that the recycling company had notified city officials only last month that it wanted to increase its rates by 32%.

Meanwhile, the city attorney has notified Orange Resource Recovery Systems Inc. that it failed to meet its obligations, a move said to be a first step toward the possible termination of a contractual relationship. But frustration in the community has mounted so much that members of a local watchdog group have taken action on their own to initiate the scrapping of the contract.

The city wants to uphold the contract unless the investigation proves wrongdoing. Obviously, the probe needs to be accelerated and concluded as soon as possible. While so many questions remain, residents are not likely to be appeased by such gestures as the city’s decision this week to reduce trash and recycling fees.

The residents and their city deserve answers, and soon.