We were incredulous to hear the City of Morgantown had decided to renew a five-year contract with Republic Services without going through the bidding process.
First and foremost, Republic has been the subject of numerous complaints — to put it mildly — ranging from repeatedly missing pickups to not fully emptying bins to knocking down cable lines and more.
Second, being good stewards of taxpayer dollars means ensuring that residents are getting the best services for the best price. We can understand giving Republic a four-month contract extension to finish out the year, but we cannot comprehend why the city would start finalizing a new five-year contract without even looking at potential bids from other providers. And we’re particularly dumbfounded by that decision specifically because of Republic’s track record.
Republic has made a lot of nice promises: a new webpage, monthly recycling drop-off events, new 96-gallon trash bins for residents and (hopefully) a solution to routinely missed Friday pickups.
However, what incentive does Republic really have to implement changes and provide better service if it knows virtually nothing can break its 20-year — soon to be 25-year — monopoly on city trash and recycling services?
If Republic had to go through the competitive process, it would have a much better incentive to follow through on better service. If the city is dead-set on working with the devil it knows no matter what, Republic has no reason to keep its promises — at least until the next contract deadline looms.
Perhaps even more disappointing is that the city made the decision to renew Republic’s contract behind closed doors and without respect for public opinion. We imagine Morgantown residents would’ve had much to say if given the chance.
If the city can make the unilateral decision to continue using a widely unpopular trash collecting company out of public view and without public input, what other decisions has it made this way?
