San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
CHULA VISTA AND REPUBLIC SERVICES REACH DEAL OVER STRIKE COSTS
Company to reimburse city about $107K for expenses it incurred
Chula Vista has quietly reached a settlement with its waste hauler Republic Services for costs incurred during a month-long strike.
More than 250 sanitation workers represented by Teamsters Local 542 walked off the job on Dec. 17 to protest stalled contract negotiations.
The work stoppage, which ended Jan. 18, affected customers in Bonita, Chula Vista, Clairemont and other parts of San Diego County. In Chula Vista, the lone waste hauler serves about 52,000 single-family households and 2,000 multifamily and commercial customers.
City Manager Maria Kachadoorian announced the settlement on June 14 during a City Council meeting. The agreement had been signed the previous day.
Chula Vista spent about $107,000 on equipment and to have its own staff and third parties, such as the nonprofits Alpha Project and Mcalister Institute, pick up trash because of the work stoppage, according to a reimbursement invoice. Under the settlement, Republic was expected to pay the city $16,600 for direct thirdparty costs by the end of June. The waste hauler is also obligated to provide the city with no less than $90,000 in services, such as the collection of waste at various types of city properties, projects or events and studies to determine how to reduce waste at city properties.
Customers are only receiving a 46 percent rebate, according to the agreement. That means, for example, if a customer’s monthly bill is $30, they would have received a $13.80 credit.
The June settlement allows customers to dispute the credit they received. Chula Vista also successfully negotiated a waiver of fees and penalties if customers “in good standing faith” paid their bill, minus their credit, by June 30. Based on the credit calculation, a customer with a $30 bill, minus a $13,80 credit, would still have to pay $16.20.
After applying all credits, the company must provide the city with “documentation substantiating the cumulative amount of credits applied, including a breakdown by residential, multi-family, and commercial customer categories, by no later than July 13, 2022,” reads the agreement.
There was a push for full customer rebates, Mayor Mary Casillas Salas said Friday.
“To (Republic), there was some level of service provided. Now, our residents will argue that … it was hit and miss. I certainly understand the frustration of our community in not getting 100 percent of the month that was in dispute, and that’s what we have to live with, unfortunately,” she said.
There was some talk about suing Republic Services, but the contract language left “very little wiggle room in creating a lawsuit” and would have cost “over a half-million dollars,” said Councilmember John Mccann.
Republic is excused from performing its duties due to an “uncontrollable circumstance,” which includes strikes or work stoppages. The company had notified the city that it was experiencing an uncontrollable circumstance on Dec. 17, which is required under the agreement, according to city officials.
Councilmember Steve Padilla said “the contract was flawed” and the council should renegotiate the language when it expires in 2024. Of the June settlement, he said it’s “one that got the job done and allowed us to turn the page and move on.”
Not all residents have moved on, however.
Russ Hall hired an attorney to send the city a letter that alleges Chula Vista violated disclosure laws by not correctly “reporting out” the settlement between the city and Republic Services and requested the municipality “cure and correct this violation by putting on the council agenda an action item to report” the matter.
In an emailed statement, City Attorney Glen Googins said his office was still evaluating the letter.
“At this time, however, I can say that, notwithstanding the allegations in the letter, my office believes that the City has acted in full compliance with the Brown Act in how the City has ‘reported out’ from Closed Session with respect to the City’s settlement with Republic,” read his statement.
The City Council in March voted 3-1 in a closed session meeting where they delegated authority to Kachadoorian to reach a settlement with the terms the council agreed on in closed session. Galvez voted “no” and Padilla was absent.
Between then and the June 13 signed agreement, negotiations involved the final amount and form of reimbursements, Republic’s obligation to allow customers to dispute credits, the value and types of in-kind services the city will receive and the terms for waiving penalties. Ultimately, the company agreed to the council’s terms and as soon as both parties signed off on June 13, Kachadoorian made the announcement the next day, according to city officials.
Hall said he believes the city lacked transparency and should have had a public hearing “to allow residents to speak and I think the representatives on the council need to have a full disclosure on how this deal was struck.”
John Moot, the attorney who filed the letter and who ran for city attorney this year, said “the handling of the trash strike has lacked transparency from day one and has now ended with a rebate shrouded in secrecy with very questionable timing and no accountability to the citizens who have to pay the bill.”
tammy.murga@sduniontribune.com