Resident Services

Resident Services / City Services

Solid Waste Services Introduction

February Message from Council President Donald B. Leach, Jr.
Finance Message from Finance Director Cathe Armstrong
City Manager Message - Agreement Reached for Solid Waste Worker Severance Package

Solid Waste Ballot Initiative Update - August 2008
Message From City Manager Virginia Barney
On Friday, July 25, our Finance Director Cathe Armstrong met with resident Mike Schadek and his attorney Jim Becker in order to file resident petitions for a ballot initiative on the recent Solid Waste services transition. Now the standard process of verification begins in advance of the November election, whereby the City and the Franklin County Board of Elections review the petitions to confirm that signatures of enough registered voters from the last gubernatorial election were obtained.

The petition effort was begun back on January 16 of this year, when Mr. Schadek notified Finance of his plans to place an Initiative Petition on the November ballot. Of the 55 individuals who sought signatures over this five-month period, 15 are non-residents and at least 11 of the 55 have connections to the Teamsters Union, which represents the City’s former employees, some coming from as far away as Cardington, Ohio. These non-residents and Teamsters affiliates collected approximately 51 percent of the total number of signatures. It should also be noted that Mr. Schadek has previously represented the Teamsters at a City arbitration panel relative to an employee labor issue.

While we don’t yet know if enough valid signatures were received at this time, even if the issue does proceed to the ballot, it has long been known Mr. Schadek’s efforts are moot since the City has entered into a binding contract with Inland Service Corporation. Last January, the City Attorney advised us that the Ohio Supreme Court has held that an ordinance that impairs the City's contractual obligations is unconstitutional, regardless of whether it was approved by the voters as an initiative measure. At that time, Mr. Schadek publicly indicated in the local newspapers that he also understood this to be the case.

This latest development aside, we are now almost four months into the transition in services, and I’m pleased to report the service provided by Inland has reached a level that is very comparable to previous in-house service. Historically, the City would receive between 20-30 resident calls per day relative to a Solid Waste issue or question of some kind. Improvements in Inland’s performance have now reached a point whereby a similar number of calls are typically received each day.

I extend my gratitude to the representatives of Inland who remain committed to working with the City in order to improve service delivery, and for weathering the ongoing community discussions with grace. Through weekly meetings, daily reports, and as needed phone and email correspondence, we have been able to make significant progress toward our goal of providing our residents with consistent, timely, high quality service delivery.

While our goal is to provide a quality service free of any hiccups, the issues associated with these calls are likewise very similar. Both before and after privatization, instances of inappropriate worker behavior, throwing cans back onto the curb, blowing papers or dropped items of refuse, missing containers, late setouts and missed pickups are all issues that typically arise with Solid Waste collection. When you step back to put it into perspective, considering more than 12,000 households are serviced each week by Solid Waste crews, and the fact that collecting garbage is not the most glamorous or desirable of jobs, the small number of issues arising each day is pretty impressive.

City Council’s decision to move to at-the-curb collection and to privatize service, came after many months of detailed research and much Council scrutiny. Resident feedback from the 2006 Community Survey and during the assessment process indicated that, while many would have preferred to keep their at-the-door service there was a consumer price point at which they were willing to shift to at-the-curb in order to control sticker costs. Then, as stewards of the public’s money, when considering the City’s finances relative to Solid Waste services, it was clear to all Council members that the previous approach would never return to self-funded status and would continue as a drain on the General Fund.

Frequently there are several “right” choices before City Council, depending on the issue at hand, and our Council members do not shy from voicing the logic they have used to reach a decision on an issue or placing a vote that differs from their colleagues. In this case, all of Council agreed the decisions to alter service delivery and to privatize services were the right decisions to make for the broad community. Once the primary policy had been set, a great deal of attention was placed by both Staff and Council to ensure residents had options, and members of the community physically unable to move their refuse cans were suitably accommodated within the new service approach – steps rarely taken by other communities.

And while we now use a private company for the provision of Solid Waste services, as is done by most communities for similar cost and practicality reasons, our organization remains committed to ensuring this new approach is provided in a comprehensive and effective manner. Providing quality service is and will always be a top priority for us.

Additional details of Solid Waste services can be found in this section of our Web site, and next steps in this new phase of the issue will be posted here soon. As always, I encourage you to be informed by checking into the facts of any issue that is cause for community discussion.

Overview of Assessment Process and Change in Service Delivery
For many years, Upper Arlington’s Solid Waste “pay-as-you-throw” approach has provided excellent service delivery, enabling residents to manage costs while encouraging recycling. However in recent years, the program was failing to meet another important goal and mandate from City Council – funding itself.

At City Council’s direction, the City embarked on a detailed review process in 2006/2007. A volunteer team of resident experts helped conduct research of best practices by other communities, solicit community feedback, and develop options for Council to consider.

The resulting approach, which went into effect Monday, April 7, 2008, meets Council’s goals of finding a solution that continues to provide exceptional, cost effective and environmentally friendly Solid Waste Services for the community.

Highlights include:
• It provides resident choice relative to service delivery;
• It results in cost savings for the average household;
• The new/reduced Solid Waste Sticker price can be maintained for several years;
• It preserves UA’s commitment to the environment by encouraging recycling;
• It spreads the basic cost of providing all components of Solid Waste services across the community through a nominal annual service fee;
• It allows the City to incorporate new technologies over time, through its specialized service provider.

Many Central Ohio communities have been using privatized solid waste services for many years, recognizing the opportunities for cost savings and to have new approaches and technologies incorporated immediately into their program as they come available. The new service approach in Upper Arlington takes advantages of these benefits, while also preserving the incentive to recycle and enabling residents to directly manage their costs for solid waste removal.

Updated 8/15/08

City Manager's Office
City of Upper Arlington
3600 Tremont Road
Upper Arlington, Ohio 43221
Phone: 614-583-5040
www.ua-ohio.net