In Warren: Savings from garbage contract to pay for cleanups

Instead, the $9 million expected to be saved over five years will go for environmental cleanups on city properties and related legal liabilities, Mayor Mark Steenbergh said Thursday.

That made Frank Spratke, a 73-year-old General Motors retiree, unhappy. He thinks a lower tax bill beats a rainy-day fund for the environment any day.

"I'd like to get a little something back, myself. I'd encourage the mayor to change his mind on how to use the money," he said.

But Steenbergh said the environmental concerns have to be addressed -- with or without the savings.

The lowest offer on the table for the contract that begins July 1 is $7.2 million, Steenbergh said. That's down from the $16 million the city has paid Warren Waste Transfer since 1991 to haul trash from a single transfer site to landfills. City employees handle curbside collections and haul the trash to the transfer site.

Steenbergh, first elected in November, said the city is saving money by negotiating directly with companies that want the business. He said he plans to pit competitors against one another in public, face-to-face negotiations for all future big-ticket contracts.

So far, a committee has met once with potential haulers -- Standard Disposal, Browning Ferris Industries, Waste Management and Pine Tree Acres. Pine Tree Acres is teaming with City Management, the parent company of Warren Waste Transfer. Standard has the lowest price so far.

"Let these companies kick and scratch each other to get our business. They know it's worth it," Steenbergh said.

"We sent out RFPs (request for proposals) to find out who was interested and then asked interested companies to sit down and talk about it. Bids leave no room for negotiation. This way, we negotiate," Steenbergh said.

He plans to send the best deal to the City Council for approval.

A second round of interviews is planned, but no dates are set.

Steenbergh expects some of the money to help clean up a 162-acre landfill in Macomb Township owned by Warren and four other cities.

The 24 Mile Road landfill, which was closed in 1974 when it filled up, is fenced off and poses no health risk to anybody in the area, said Ted Wahby, chairman of the South Macomb Disposal Authority.

But Warren will have to share the bill for cleaning out the site to meet state environmental standards for deteriorating garbage that mixes with water.

Garbage hauling is financed by city taxes.