Ring the Christmas bells—I.V. Waste has won the emergency garbage collection contract. Owner Sidney Torres’ one-year, $5.9 million bid was the lowest among the four offers, and they’ll begin service on December 23rd.
Of course, it was nice to hear they ironed out a contract. Then I learned how the sausage got made, and that old Churchill quote came to mind, “Americans can always be trusted to do the right thing, once all other possibilities have been exhausted.”
Except—in this case—replace Americans with New Orleans Officials.
That lone amendment might be a little generous because New Orleans Officials reliably do the wrong thing after exhausting all the better options. However, in terms of the garbage contract, it’s clear they made the right choice. They just managed to drag their feet for as long as they possibly could.
When you look at how it all went down, it’s so obvious that IV Waste was the right choice from the get-go. They’re the largest trash collector in this city, servicing about 70% of the locations outside of the French Quarter at present. The people of this city know the name, can trust their reliability, and they come with fewer surprises.
However, more importantly, and this is my major gripe with how the contract process went down: IV Waste actually owns its assets. In other words, they own garbage trucks, which one would think would be a reasonable expectation for our government to entertain a bid.
Well, not in this city, apparently.
After reviewing the selection process, I found that a couple of the offers they entertained were from companies who subcontracted their equipment. Just so we’re clear, this is what got us into this emergency contract maddash in the first place.
I know the contract selection process is multi-faceted, but after all the people of this city have to endure trash collection errors, and with the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras right around the corner, wouldn’t it be sensible to want your waste contractor to actually own its own garbage removal equipment? Not some shell that plans to outsource every damn thing? Why add multiple layers and third parties who will squabble, litigate, and stymie the trash collection process?
Not to beat this subject to death, but this whole parade is a clear indicator of our continued breakdown in governance from so many angles. Today it’s procurement of services—one of the fundamental responsibilities of municipal government—tomorrow it’ll be something else.
It’s a shame that we have to get so elementary on this show. But this episode serves as a reminder to those in the decision-making process that you ought to prioritize investing in services and contracts that provide a direct line from the individuals providing the services. You can’t invest in some complex cobweb of third parties who end up arguing, failing to communicate, and leaving our streets two stories high with garbage.
Ask yourself, would you ever consider hiring a contractor who has to hire someone else to drive a nail or lay a shingle? I just don’t get how we conduct business in this city. I guess if you’re looking to get an A+ in inefficiency, we’re doing a great job.