Community Corner

Supervisors Dump Idea of Privatizing County-Owned Waste Sites

At issue was whether the county should consider entering into long-term leases with private waste collection and processing firms, granting them control of dump sites "in exchange for a lump-sum and ongoing royalty payment" to the county.

A divided Board of Supervisors on Tuesday dumped a proposal to potentially lease out more than three dozen active and dormant Riverside County-owned landfills to private interests in order to boost revenue to the general fund.

"This would be a huge risk for us," said Supervisor John Tavaglione, who joined Supervisors John Benoit and Kevin Jeffries in voting down the concept. "There are some things in government you privatize and others you do not. Philosophically, I just can't agree with this."

At issue was whether the county should consider entering into long-term leases with private waste collection and processing firms, granting them control of dump sites "in exchange for a lump-sum and ongoing royalty payment" to the county, according to Department of Waste Management documents.

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"I'm skeptical of this," Jeffries said. "I worry about the unintended consequences and the effect on ratepayers. How would these companies make money without cutting back on hours or charging more?"

In proposed bid documents, the Department of Waste Management stated that the goal was to provide an "ongoing revenue stream to the county in connection with the solid waste system" while ensuring "reasonable disposal rates to the citizens of Riverside County" and "long-term rate stability" for municipalities.

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The city of Riverside expressed concerns about the possibility of private entities taking over landfill space and jacking up rates, which would be passed on to city residents.

During a board meeting in early June, supervisors generally agreed funding from landfill leases would be dedicated to public safety initiatives, including jail expansion projects.

Only six waste disposal sites are operational countywide -- the Badlands Sanitary Landfill near Moreno Valley, the Blythe Sanitary Landfill, the Desert Center Sanitary Landfill, the Lamb Canyon Sanitary Landfill near Beaumont, the Mecca Sanitary Landfill and the Oasis Sanitary Landfill.

The county's remaining 32 trash disposal sites -- which comprise roughly 3,054 acres -- are dormant, documents showed.

"Every possibility should be explored," Supervisor Marion Ashley said. "We need to look everywhere to achieve more revenue."

The supervisor was on the fence about whether to proceed with seeking bids from prospective lessees, but leaned toward giving it a try. 

Supervisor Jeff Stone was in full support.

"I am a strong proponent of public-private partnerships," he said. "Government is a more expensive model than just about everything else. Leasing is a wonderful idea. I'm not going to support anything that increases rates charged to constituents. But we need to open all doors to revenue generation and think outside the box. What's the harm of opening the process up? Otherwise we are never going to know what could be."

Benoit said he was turned off by leasing precedents set in San Diego and Sonoma counties, where costs ran much higher than anticipated after landfills were partially privatized.

"My level of confidence that we can do this and succeed is steadily diminishing," he said.

Under the proposal submitted by Department of Waste Management Director Hans Kernkamp, all lessees would have been required to freeze disposal rates for 10 years, allowing only for upward adjustments that track with the regional rate of inflation; accept all liabilities, including potential environmental hazards, associated with a property; and maintain current service levels, including hours of operation, provided a landfill is active.

The county's 28 cities, which contain 75 percent of the county's population, utilize the trash collection sites.

According to waste management officials, liabilities tied to the inactive sites total $145.7 million.

Stone was the lone vote in favor of allowing companies to submit bids for leases.

Ashley abstained.

In scotching the lease plans, the board also took no action on proposed contracts, valued at $593,844, with the Los Angeles-based Nossaman law firm, as well as municipal management advisers HF&H Consultants, based in Walnut Creek, which were selected to help guide the county through the process.

—City News Service


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