Taking Out the Trash, Redux
On Tuesday the Fullerton City Council is going to address the topic of selecting the next solid waste hauler. This is a big deal, with a lot of money involved.
Last time, we saw the can kicked, as usual, when the council decided that six finalists would be permitted to sharpen their proverbial pencils and make final and best offers, en route to a final selection.
And so they did. I won’t bore the Friends with the various details of proposals because in the end each is offering different rates, services, and feel good community involvement, the last item a useless PR gesture that somebody in City Hall thought merited points in their selection calculations.
But two RFP respondents offered something else. Big loans to the City’s General Fund that would be recovered over many years via augmented rates.
EDCO has sweetened the pot by offering a $15,000,000 one time payment to the City to be recovered by a differential in the annual Consumer Price Index that is applied to fees.
Republic, the current hauler, is offering a $10,000,000 one time payment they are charmingly calling a “Community Enhancing Payment” which sounds better than “City of Fullerton Bailout.”
Obviously these two cash offer proposals would present the City Council immediate, if only very temporary, relief from the impending budget reserve liquidation, and will attract attention for that. The other positive political result could be the elimination of a November 2026 ballot tax question – a problem in getting on the ballot, and passage by the voters. However, the underlying structural budget deficit would remain and would need to be addressed, anyway, and immediately.
The formulas increasing the CPI scales would really be amount to a hidden tax on waste producing customers in Fullerton, and the City would be in the effective position of incurring debt leveraged on hauling fee increases. I presume the offerors and the City have investigated the legality of this.
Of the two proposers, EDCO was previously ranked first by a narrow margin, while Republic was in last place. The City’s relationship with Republic really soured during negotiations for SB 1383 when Republic did the old bait-and-switcheroo so there’s that to consider.
Meantime CR&R is promising $4,000,000 upfront to pay for road improvements – no strings attached – however there are always strings attached and in this case recovery of the 4 mil will certainly be reflected in rates higher than other proposers.
Is the upfront payment concept viable? I think so. It would buy some time for the City. But somebody would have to pay the piper, and somebody is still going to have to make the budget cuts required to balance a budget and no one has shown any appetite for this bitter menu. Appointing a useless committee to study things has been a waste of time. Almost.
One of the committee members did suggest the very thing that EDCO, Republic and CR&R are offering demonstrating that at least somebody was thinking of alternatives.
My guess is that “Dr.” Ahmad Zahra and Shana Charles will not support this big payment option, seeing great liberal virtue in imposing a 13% sales tax increase like the ill-fated measure M of 2020. On the other hand, that passage is a risky business and they need 4 votes to make it even get on the ballot. Nick Dunlap probably would not vote for putting a tax on the ballot, or going with the upfront payment plan. But his vote might not be needed. The waste contract only needs 3 votes. Where are Jung and Valencia? I guess we’ll find out Tuesday.
The boohoos think of tax increases as a civic virtue, but to be virtuous you have to have the tax be acknowledged and passed to get virtue credits in Fullerton Boohoo Heaven. Zahra and Charles will hate a hauler loan and will vote against a deal like that.
Time has run out and you know the battle for tax ballot language STILL has to be fought.
A loan might be the best solution for the short term.
It’s all performative with you guys. You’ll support water privatization that will increase water rates, a loan from trash haulers that will increase trash rates, and a sweetheart lease that will lower the revenue this city receives from its assets.
Who cares if you support a sales tax or not? You support a tax on every other asset we have, so long as it benefits the owner of this blog. You have no principles, you only have loyalty to Tony. That is why residents in this city are struggling.
You people have sold out residents so one spoiled landlord can monopoly with our city. You’ve had a majority for half a decade and where did it get us? $14 million in the hole with the worst streets in the county. No improvements, endless complaints. Enough already
Oh boohoo. Show us where FFFF has supported a privatization of the water utility or this trash deal.
These are ideas with good and bad points. You obviously didn’t even read this post. Go away young fella and get a job.
The tender young sprout didn’t even read the post.
Lazy boy toy.
“Dr.” Zahra voted against spending on infrastructure. Remember that. He’s been there since 2018 and had a cute little boohoo majority that lied about balanced budgets and handed out goodies to the unions.
Still crying about the Depot lease? Get over it. It was a good deal for everybody and it was even better for exposing the ignorance and spleen of Zahra & Co.
Why do you put Dr. in quotation marks? Is Zahra a doctor or isn’t he?
He’s not a doctor.
He has yet to prove in any way shape or form that he is/was a doctor, received a medical degree or practiced medicine…that’s why we love to put his name in “quotation marks” because he’s not a real “doctor”. Never has been either, or else he would’ve proven it years ago. I won’t call Shana Charles doctor either because doctors go to years of medical school,
prescribe medicine and treat patients.
someone with a doctorate is not necessarily a medical doctor. You do know that right?
Only self-important yabos with mail order PhDs want to be referred to as “Doctor.”
It’s rife in the world of 3rd rate public academic institutions and public school systems.
looks like someone who never went to college who’s mad that they are a 3rd rate worker bee with no advancement in their life
You mean another CSUF diploma mill grad?
Shut up Elijah-
Doctors prescribe medicine and go to years of medical school and get medical degrees and licenses.
Fake “doctors” like Charles and Zahra go to lots of college and pay ridiculous sums to get their “doctoral” degree, and then parade it around and use the title when they need to feel self important. Especially cringe are when the boohoos refer to them as Dr. Charles and Dr. Zahra. Hahahahaha!
This is why I will never call non-medical doctors ‘doctor.’
Who says Zahra went to lots of college?
I think “Professor” is appropriate.
At least CR&R has been ethical this whole time. They and MG are the only ones that have the infrastructure to handle the work. Little EDCO has proposed a massive trash terminal facility in D4 or D5. They called it the Fullerton Administrative Terminal or FAT. Ha. That should be fun.
Maybe Sweet Elijah Manassero can get his first job running their environmental department with his Buena Park friends.
Would such a facility require an EIR? You would think so.
Yeah, but likely a pipe dream for an EIR. EDCO actually bid to haul everything out of county in the meantime. The incompetent public works staff loves EDCO’s “Headline Feature” to bid a grand facility…thinking a community actually wants a huge trash terminal in town while they print and pocket extra cash for 20 years. Has staff told Ahmad their “#1” choice EDCO puts a trash facility in his district? The “Ahmad Zahra Municipal Trash Terminal” would leave a lovely legacy.
I left out that Terminal part, but these are good points.
It would be a transfer station.
Yeah, screw the neighborhoods. Let’s just add another shit cluster to town. Ahmad and Jamie can fight over it.
Both Republic and EDCO offer lopsided loans to the city that will eat away city funds in the long run, and of course this blog is fully supportive of the proposal.
No wonder we’re in this mess, when the “fiscal responsible” blog is infatuated by fancy new toys that hurt the city’s finances
“of course this blog is fully supportive of the proposal.”
Really? Show us where. Usual boohooing.
Lopsided? So you’ve worked out their ROI, tender sprout?
It is quite funny to watch the blog of loud-mouthed landlords squirm to justify their selfish decisions.
Valley Vista embarrassed themselves (and Bushala) in the face of established haulers. You can’t help yourselves though, so you crawl back to some stupid idea Tony brought up during the fiscal committee meetings.
You’ve had an outsized voice on city council for over a decade, and look where it got us. $14 million in the hole and no way out. Your ideas hurt normal people, but you don’t care because daddy Tony profits. You are all pathetic losers, and even your bozo allies can see it. You only harm whatever outcomes you seek to attain and more people in this space are beginning to realize it. Thank god for Tony’s big mouth and this stupid blog or else this problem would’ve never been brought into the public eye
All of these landlords who have been cruising for over a decade have got to be fed up with Tony’s big mouth at this point.
One shameless man ruining the game for everyone else. What a shame…
Unemployed Marxist 27 year-olds of the World unite! You have nothing to lose but your rent.
Stop replying to your own comments Elijah.
Ruining what, exactly? Are you still mourning the idiot wank on wilshire?
Now I know this is the Young Marxist, perpetual student, unemployed Elijah.
He hates landlords because he can’t afford rent without a gift from HIS daddy.
Ok Elijah Mamdani.
You seem to be having Daddy issues, young Elijah. Isn’t your papa a rent seeker?
This can’t be legal… Read Josh’s City News blog. But then again, we have Jones and Mayer.
That post seems to assume that the decision has already been taken and that a deal with EDCO or Republic can’t lose the loan strategy.
218 and 26 are a problem. The reference to Fullerton 10% water in-lieu fee is not inapt, however, the issue there was that no objective analysis was done to establish that amount. It was just adopted by council fiat and ignored after 26 was passed. Come to think of it, an objective study STILL hasn’t been done.
It’s clearly not a done deal, but staff is pushing an illegal bid as the “a” option and 9 times out of 10 in this town staff gets what they want. My assumption is Shana/Ahmad support Republic because they’re union and Jamie jumps on board because she doesn’t know what she’s voting on, probably thinking she’s voting to continue it again.
I don’t think the staff reports recommends anybody. That’s not to say they aren’t pushing something hard behind the scenes.
Can’t wait to Public Records Act staff’s personal devices to see how much they had it in the bag with their bullshit ranking system.
Marty Simonoff’s EDCO Puppets. Konya Vivanti
Francesca Vivanti, Michelle Keshishian Duran, What a Dream Team… Hmmm
Tell us more about these people. One of them has an Armenian surname. Any connection to the SoCal Armenian Trash Mafia?
You can put whatever deceptive name on it you wish, but it is a tax and nothing but a tax which requires approval by voters or it is illegal. Period.
That’s debatable.
Trash is a tax? Last I heard, it was a service. WTF are you talking about?
EDCO promises to invest in an “Administrative Terminal” in Fullerton. I have no idea what this means. Any help?
Must be some kind of recycling collection center. Trash goes to the landfill.
Meanwhile, any mention of checking on how much we spend each year on the homeless who are still pretty much homeless?
Any cuts in spending anticipated?
Or just put it on the credit card.