Bad County Commissioners but stupid Waste Pro may have had the wrong lobbyists. By Geniusofdespair

The question every vendor grapples with is: Is one very expensive Uber Lobbyist (Rodney Barreto) better than 4 or 5 second string lobbyists? And, dare I ask the question on everyone's mind: Does the RIGHT lobbyist-go-between funnel money back to Commissioners from the Corporations? Are there kickbacks?

I don’t rightly know but apparently the County Commission has their preferences because they rejected the pleas of 4 lobbyists on behalf of Waste Pro, Inc. for a recycling contract. This is a sordid tale and frankly I can’t explain it mainly because there is more to it than meets the eye. But it stinks and it is costing us taxpayers money.

The short: rather than go with one company with the expertise and track record for the whole county (at less money mind you) the commissioners appear to want to divide the contract up and give it to a few local companies that bid higher than Waste Pro. Commissioner Barbara Jordan appeared to be pushing "zones" the most. What the Commissioners said in discussion is that they didn't want to use Waste Pro, even though they had the lowest bid, because they were from out of town: Longwood Florida. According to a Pinzur Article in the Miami Herald October 30th:

The discussion revealed strong feelings among some commissioners about directing contracts to local firms. ''That needs to be the first consideration because otherwise we're not developing and growing our businesses,'' said Commissioner Barbara Jordan.

However, I say they are speaking in forked tongues: The offices of the other contract that they awarded (for a different service under the SAME resolution mind you) to Waste Management, Inc. are in Houston, Texas!

And, as a reader pointed out, Waste Pro is not going to bring in workers, they would hire locally, bringing in jobs. Their discussion is meaningless - a red herring. There is more to the story (the underpinnings crafted by lobbyists that we will never know).

Let’s start with the November 1st, Miami Herald Editorial:

Wrong to scrap good recycling contract
OUR OPINION: DEAL WOULD HAVE SAVED MONEY AND HELPED ENVIRONMENT

If Miami-Dade commissioners want to know why there is such unbridled anger among the electorate about local-government spending, they should look no further than the majority's decision to scuttle a recycling contract that would have saved taxpayers about $250,000 a month.

The recycling deal had been painstakingly negotiated. Yet the commission scuttled it in October, even though the deal would expand the county's household recycling program to include recyclable waste now dumped in landfills. A deal that is good for taxpayers' wallets and good for the environment -- what's not to like?

A more-expensive deal

Could it be that lobbyists' interest held more sway than a good deal? Commissioners offered a dubious explanation, saying that they didn't want to give the contract to an out-of-town company. So, they rejected the agreement with Longwood-based Waste Pro Inc. Then commissioners came up with a new plan for divvying up the recycling dollars, one that could cost almost $500,000 more per year than the Longwood company would have charged.

Commissioners conveniently overlooked the fact that lobbyists' clients have only themselves to blame for the administration's deal with the Longwood-based company. Any of them could have made an offer low enough that the county couldn't refuse.
-SNIP-

Also go to listen to the AUDIO with Katy Sorsenson Bid impasse stalling new recycling plan - Related Content- hit on audio.

Now let’s go to the Minutes from the County Commission meeting for what transpired, I left out some parts to make it more understandable:

073049 Resolution
RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING EXECUTION OF AGREEMENT WITH WASTE PRO OF FLORIDA, INC. TO OBTAIN CURBSIDE COLLECTION, WASTE MANAGEMENT INC OF FLORIDA, PROCESSING SERVICES
REPORT: After discussion, it was moved by Commissioner Jordan that the Board approve the County Manager’s recommendations for award of the contract for processing of recyclable materials to Waste Management, Inc. The motion provided that the award of the processing contract be subject to the subsequent award of the collection contract. This motion was seconded by Commissioner Seijas, and upon being put to a roll call vote, passed by a vote of 8-4, (Commissioners Edmonson, Heyman, Martinez, Moss, Seijas, Sosa, Jordan and Chairman Barreiro voted “yes”) (Commissioners Gimenez, Rolle, Sorenson, and Diaz voted “no”) (Commissioner Souto was absent).

... motions were made to reject the County Manager’s recommendation for award of the collection contract to Waste Pro, Inc., and to direct the County Manager as to the process to be utilized by which the five proposers could further compete for award of collection contract(s). The motion failed to obtain the necessary two thirds vote for approval.

It was moved by Commissioner Gimenez that the Board waive the bid protest process for the recycling. This motion was seconded by Commissioner Martinez. The Chair declined to call a vote on this motion.

Following Commissioner Diaz’ comments that the County Manager be allowed to come back with a comprehensive process, Chairman Barreiro remanded the matter back to the County Manager for the Manager to meet with the affected proposers and develop a recommended process by which selection of firm(s) for award of the collection contract(s) can be made that includes consideration of: zones, local preference and best price. The Manager was directed to report back to the Board at its next meeting as to how to proceed.

Now let’s go to the lobbyist list (note there are more companies involved that I have not listed simply because I don't know the name of the companies):

WASTE SERVICES INC
MITCHELL BIERMAN, GENERAL GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS 3/22/2007
RICHARD J WEISS, GENERAL GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS 3/22/2007
ALFREDO BALSERA, COUNTY CURBSIDE RECYCLING PROGRAM 10/12/2007
ROBERT HOLLAND, COUNTY CURBSIDE RECYCLING PROGRAM 10/16/2007

WASTE SERVICES OF FLORIDA INC
RODNEY BARRETO, NONE 7/13/2007

WASTE PRO OF FLORIDA, INC
PAIGE CARTER-SMITH, SOLID WASTE RECYCLING 10/15/2007
ROBERT J HYRES, SOLID WASTE RECYCLING 10/15/2007
SCOTT C MADDOX, SOLID WASTE RECYCLING 10/15/2007
SYLVESTER LUKIS, NONE 10/29/2007

WASTE MANAGEMENT OF FLORIDA INC
DUSTY MELTON 4/26/2005, RECYCLING ISSUES Open
SERGIO PEREIRA 12/16/2002, WASTE RELATED ISSUES Open

If anyone has a clue as to the REAL STORY -- which this isn't -- lets post it. Can we finally "OUT" the Commissioners who have more to gain than the tired old, and untrue, claim: "I want jobs for my constituents." Bullshit!