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WILKES-BARRE — Coming up on two months since the city received one bid for taking over its garbage service, no action is expected on the issue any time soon.
“There’s a lot going on,” city Administrator Ted Wampole said Friday.
A decision could be months away as Wilkes-Barre continues to do its due diligence and negotiate with the union representing Department of Public Works employees who pick up trash and recyclables curbside.
“There is no time frame,” Wampole said.
Waste Management, of Taylor, submitted a three-year bid of $15.9 million, the only response to a request for proposals Dec. 28. But the company has not heard back from the city, which is considering privatizing the service to cut costs.
“We’re ready to talk and we’re ready to do the job,” said John Hambrose, a spokesman for the company that operates the Alliance landfill in Lackawanna County.
The city’s adviser, the PFM Consulting Group LLC of Philadelphia, recommended that waste collection be looked at when it presented its report on Wilkes-Barre’s progress in the state’s Early Intervention Program last March. PFM representatives are scheduled to make a presentation on Wilkes-Barre’s cash flow projections during a council meeting March 22.
Expenses outpace revenues for waste collection even with the city raising the price of garbage bags this year by 60 cents. The increase is budgeted to bring in $1.6 million in revenue, still far below the $4 million in budgeted expenses.
Another round of contract negotiations is scheduled for March 9 with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 410 that represents DPW employees. The union is working under the terms of a contract that expired at the end of last year.