Residential garbage trucks for the City of Valdosta
was let out several weeks prior to allow for any company willing to take on the responsibility of maintaining the county’s sanitation service. As a term to guarantee the lowest possible price for the taxpayers, the county agreed to an exclusive contract with a sanitation company. To an average businessminded person, this would logically make sense. But, the repercussions of the decision as a public agency proved to be a regrettable calculation. This is because a small business local sanitation service provider was instructed to cease and desist his operations due to the exclusive contract agreement. The small business owner provided timely and quality service which included cleaning out each trash container after dumping and spraying it with fragrance. His customers were truly satisfied with the services he provided to them countywide. Therefore, the small business owner continued to service his customers in Lowndes County despite the new sanitation contract
between the county and new provider. Eventually, the local small business owner soon became a local hero and martyr for his customers and the entire county. The idea of arresting the small business owner came and went as fast as it was brought up. It was obvious that the customers of the small business owner would resist the change in service or create a hardship for the new county designated providers. Therefore, it became problematic to enforce the new exclusive contract agreement. Currently, there is still no other company in our area to provide such service as the small business owner.
pay for sanitation service from another commercial-size company, a small local business owner, our county drop-off site, or to request burn permits in our area. Between the timeframe of approval and implementation of the new sanitation ordinance, the new sanitation providers for the county did not deliver enough trash containers to the residents. This delayed the implementation of the service for weeks, and ultimately opened the door to massive illegal dumping. Citizens dumped residential trash, yard debris, and bulk items along our nice country roads. They even spread household waste along our major thoroughfares in the county. Most of it was just showcasing public defiance and mockery, because they placed couches in medians with rugs and televisions. To this end, citizens complained about the mandate to utilize the new sanitation provider and receiving old trash cans instead of new ones. As stated earlier, the mandate stemmed from the exclusive contract.
Nevertheless, after much litigation and public outcry, the exclusive sanitation contract was renegotiated due to poor customer service complaints stemming from not enough trash containers for the residents and poor customer service in the unincorporated areas. Prior to entering into a sanitation agreement, residents had options to www.apwa.net
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March 2018
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APWA Reporter
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