With the request for proposals going out in September, township council was met with criticism on Oct. 28 from both the union and residents over the possibility of privatizing township sanitation services.
With members of the sanitation department present for support, president of the Communications Workers of America Local 1036 Adam Liebtag presented the council with a response letter regarding the RFP as well as vocalizing his concerns during the public comment portion of the meeting.
“The RFP was issued with very little debate and discussion,” Liebtag said.
Liebtag spoke on behalf of the 11 sanitation workers currently employed by the township’s public works department, attesting to the quality work they deliver. He also added that, in addition to collecting trash, the sanitation workers also perform other services, including snow removal and recycling collection.
“Residents deserve to know the impact before the council makes a decision,” Liebtag said.
In addition, Liebtag urged the council to hold a public meeting on the issue before a resolution to award a trash-collecting contract reaches a future council agenda.
Township manager Scott Carew said he would be happy to meet with the representatives after the township receives bids and agreed with Liebtag’s comments about the value of Moorestown’s sanitation workers.
“It’s not lost on me and it’s not lost on this council,” Carew said. “I personally see the value.”
In addition, both Councilman Greg Newcomer and Deputy Mayor Chris Chiacchio volunteered to serve as liaisons along with Carew when meeting with representatives following the bids.
Mayor Stacey Jordan also added that the RFP serves as a way to evaluate the township’s options.
“We need to vet it out and do what is best for the township,” Jordan said. “It’s not something that we’re taking lightly.”
Local residents also voiced support for the township’s sanitation workers during the public comment portion of the meeting.
“I think a local force is something to be preserved,” Monique Begg said.
Resident James Little also spoke about the importance of keeping Moorestown residents employed, citing that if an outside company handles trash collection, Moorestown dollars will leave Moorestown, as opposed to most likely staying within the township.
“It’s important because we’re all family,” Little said.
In addition, resident Kathy Sutherland said there was no place for outsourcing in Moorestown and that the “country is outsourced to the brink of oblivion.”
“Getting rid of people is not always the answer or the solution,” Sutherland said.
Following the meeting, Carew said there had been no talks of letting go of any of the township’s sanitation workers.
Carew explained that the bids will open on Thursday, Nov. 14 and will then be checked for compliance in addition to a financial analysis completed by director of finance Thomas Merchel.
Carew also added that the township will be looking at not just trash collection services, but will also factor in the extra services the township sanitation workers provide.
“It’s not just going to be dollars versus dollars,” Carew said.
In Liebtag’s letter to the council, he also mentioned that the union’s current contract is due to expire with the township in a matter of months.
“Finally, the fact that our current collective bargaining agreement is due to expire at the end of the calendar year only exacerbated this situation, and we are concerned that the township may be seeking these bids in order to influence and affect the terms of our successor agreement which we will be negotiating with you shortly,” he wrote.
In a press release issued Sept. 6 from the township, an announcement was made that the township would be advertising for bids from “private trash haulers” as part of the goal from town council given to Jordan and Chiacchio and working with Carew to find significant cost-saving initiatives with the goal of cutting $1 million.
According to the notice published on the township’s website, bids for solid waste collection services will open on Nov. 14 at 10 a.m. at the Municipal Building.
