Unions slam proposal to cut costs by $14 million a year

Darren A. Nichols/ The Detroit News

Detroit— The city's population spiral has Mayor Dave Bing seriously considering privatizing garbage collection to improve collections and save cash.

The proposal, which could save nearly $14 million a year, is one of several in the city's five-year deficit elimination plan. The plan could free up money for core services like public safety and improve operations to attract more residents to a city whose population fell 25 percent since 2000 to 713,777.

"I don't think we have a view as to whether sanitation should be run by union or nonunion," Detroit Chief Operating Officer Chris Brown said. "What we have a view on is how we get the most efficient use of our dollars as a consumer.

"If you have a density problem and a garbage truck is only picking up one or two per block, you're thinking to yourself how you optimize that. You're trying to figure out how to get more density in certain areas and how do you serve people better at a lower cost. That's what we're after."

Union leaders object to the idea and say there's no evidence private companies could do a better job. Worse, private firms could cut corners or be open to corruption — such as the infamous 2007 bribery-tainted sludge hauling contract to Synagro Technologies Inc.

That deal has since been canceled.
City officials have been looking at ways to overhaul garbage operations, particularly since population declines have complicated collections in the 139-square-mile city. Garbage tonnage has dropped by 13 percent over the last year and 38 percent in the last five years.

The system is also beset with numerous problems, including dozens of trucks out of commission at any time and uncollected fees. About 30 percent of a controversial $240 fee homeowners pay for pickup is uncollected — adding up to as much as $20 million a year, according to an audit of the system.

The audit suggests the city should reroute trucks to save $3 million to $7 million; reduce the frequency of bulk collection to save $3 million to $4 million; and eliminate service to commercial businesses to save $1 million.

"We're not the ultimate employer, we're a service provider," Brown said. "We just don't have the money. If you don't have the revenue, you have to figure out which one of those [[core) resources you're going to spend it on, [[such as) public safety and things that historically are required to stay in government."

Many cities such as Indianapolis, San Diego and San Francisco already have outside companies collect garbage. So do many Metro Detroit communities such as Westland, Northville, Novi, Bloomfield Township, Farmington, Sterling Heights and Warren.
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