As a statutory requirement, to make changes to the current method of service, the City must hold at least one (1) public hearing and provide a three (3) year notice to all current haulers operating within the City. This required three (3) years’ notice would provide notification the City is considering a move to an “exclusive franchise” with a single hauler.
Currently, the City has six (6) separate Waste Haulers with overlapping service areas. Those current haulers include County Recycling, Inc. dba County Sanitation, Waste Pro of Florida, Inc. dba J.D. Parker & Sons, Waste Connections Inc., Waste Management Inc., of Florida, Republic Services of Florida Inc., dba Seaside Sanitation, and Peterson's Service Corporation. Section 403.70605(3)(b), Florida Statues, requires that each waste hauler receive a letter within 45 days of the scheduled public hearing. A copy of the letters that were sent to each waste hauler are attached for reference.
Under the City’s current requirements, companies are required to submit an annual waste hauling permit application along with a $500 permit fee. Once the application is approved by the City Council the companies are allowed to operate within the City limits from January 1 to December 31 of a calendar year. Each hauler must collect a 10% franchise fee from their customers as described in resolution No. 2017-02 and submit to the City a list of their active customers quarterly.
After a recent independent audit, it was determined nearly 2,000 residences were not listed on any of the current contracted hauler’s customer list and are not receiving any waste pickup service. It was also concluded the waste haulers are currently servicing 720 residences that appear to be outside of the City and including them on their quarterly customer statements. These situations stem from confusion regarding overlapping service areas and confusion regarding service area borders. Finally, the analysis provided a recommendation that the City “should consider reducing the number of allowed haulers.”
After discussions with the haulers, it is apparent a system with multiple haulers is uncommon, difficult to manage, and a move to a single hauler system should be considered.
In addition to reducing the number of waste haulers within the City, staff recommends a system that includes the City placing the cost of waste pickup service on each property tax bill and then pays the contracted waste hauler directly. This system is preferred by the waste haulers and will reduce cost for haulers, and ultimately citizens.