City Rejects Petition on Trash Hauler

A petition signed by more than 4,500 people opposing the city’s recently approved contract with trash-hauling company Federal Disposal Service has been rejected because information on the petition was misleading, city officials said.

Frustrated residents turned in the signatures May 30 demanding that the City Council rescind its decision to hire the trash-hauling company. They urged the city to retain Waste Management of Orange County, which has collected the city’s waste for 30 years.

Doug Holland, assistant city attorney, said the petition was tossed out because it did not have the name or title of the contract ordinance approved by the City Council, it did not indicate some of the essential terms of the contract between the city and Federal Disposal such as the contract amount, and the approved contract was not attached to the petition for residents to view.

“What is at issue is the integrity of the election process, and folks need to know exactly what” the details are, Holland said.

The council voted 3 to 2 on May 1 to award a $4.2-million annual contract to Federal Disposal, the lowest bidder, that would save residents and business owners an estimated $17.4 million during the seven-year term.

Waste Management officials contend Federal Disposal was not the lowest responsible bidder. Federal Disposal’s bid was $500,000 lower than Waste Management’s, but a city ordinance requires the council to choose the lowest responsible bidder--one capable of fulfilling the contract. Hours before the council vote, city staff had recommended rejecting Federal’s low bid because the company did not have a site with permits to run the trash service and it lacked experience hauling residential and commercial trash.

The staff originally recommended the second-lowest bidder, Waste Management, but changed its recommendation shortly before the council meeting after Federal Disposal officials promised to expand a site in Santa Ana to accommodate the workload.

Elizabeth Nadon, a Tustin Ranch resident who avidly supports rehiring Waste Management, said she was appalled the city intends to ignore the concerned public.

“This is way against the nature of the democratic process,” Nadon said. “This is not about Federal being unqualified. This is about what the citizens believe is in their own best interest.”

Federal Disposal President Don Shubin said the city made its decision on solid legal grounds.

“There is no basis to make any other decision,” he said.

Marissa Espino can be reached at (714) 966-5879