NEW ORLEANS -- Will it come from a cut in trash pick up from one day a week to two, or will it come from trash collectors agreeing to a 10 percent cut in fees?
The New Orleans Sanitation Department took center stage Wednesday morning as the City Council sought ways to fill the city's $68 million budget gap.
In 2008, sanitation and trash pick up in New Orleans cost the taxpayers nearly $48 million. Next year, the department will be subject to the mayor's proposed, across-the-board 10 percent budget cut.
“The mayor, myself and Dr. Brenda Hatfield [New Orleans’ Chief Administrative Officer], we met with the contractors and they agreed to give the city a ten percent discount on their monthly invoices for the year of 2010,” said Sanitation Director Veronica White.
It would mean a significant change for the controversial trash pick-up contracts that have pitted the City Council against Nagin administrators since he signed the pricey new deals in 2007.
Three contractors -- Richards, Metro and SDT -- each handle different parts of the city and get paid differently.
“You're not aware of anything that would be paid to them, given to them or delayed, whatever in the future for this generosity it seems like,” asked Councilwoman Shelley Midura.
“I'm not aware of anything at this particular time,” White replied.
Richards and Metro, the contractors that service households outside of the French Quarter and downtown, have contracts that pay them for each house that they service.
WWL-TV reporter Katie Moore asked, “How could they possibly afford to take a ten percent cut?”
“That's an issue. And it's something that we're working through. I don't want to get into the negotiations because they're ongoing,” said attorney Daniel Davillier, who is representing Richards and Metro in their negotiations with the city.
"We have nothing in writing at this time. We have verbal commitments at this time,” White told the council.
“The city does not have the legal authority to unilaterally impose a rate reduction. So, yes, there will be something in return, and if we don't agree what that is, then there will not be a modification because there is an existing contract,” Davillier said.
It's one reason City Council members say they're still looking for more information on other potential cost-cutting measures.
“If the tonnage isn't gonna change, what is the savings by going to once per week?” asked Councilwoman Cynthia Hedge-Morrell, Budget Committee chair.
“Other states have attempted to do this and they're only saving approximately 64 cents. This particular state that did go to once per week is Dallas,” White said.
Midura told the Council that Covington pays $15 less for once-per-week service.
“From the trash side, what is, or is not, and so what does that mean for that becoming harbingers for rodents,” asked Council Member Cynthia Willard-Lewis.
The council asked many questions, looking for more information to make decisions on where to find $68 million to fill the city's projected budget deficit before Dec. 1. Council members also wanted to figure out what the impact might be if trash pick up was cut to once-per-day in the French Quarter.
