Agenda - Council - 06/23/1981 - Laserfiche WebLink

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o Reductions in the quantity of waste can increase the cost of processing each ton of waste and decrease total annual revenues and returns on investments; o Facilities may be shut down too often, resulting in loss of revenues from materials or fuels that would otherwise be recovered; and o Changes in the composition of solid waste may lower the quality or fraction of combustibles and/or recoverable mate- rials. This would reduce the revenue potential per ton of waste and increase operating costs by increasing the quan- tity of waste destined for final disposal. The adverse effects of such operating problems may be alleviated by: o Providing backup systems to assure continued operations during scheduled and unscheduled maintenance periods; o Providing storage capacity and/or supplementary fuel to ensure a continuous supply of energy or recovered materials during periods of no collections; and o Providing alternative means of waste management in case the system fails or produces increased quantities of nonrecov- erable and noncombustible wastes. The (METROPOLITAN SOLID) Waste Management Act gives the metropolitan counties authority to enter into contracts with any person for the operation and maintenance of any solid waste facility owned by the county. The contract must be in accordance with the Metropolitan Council's criteria. A publicly owned facility could be operated publicly, either by an established department of the county government or by a public author- ity that is financially self-supporting and administered separately from other agencies of the county government. The primary advantage of public operation is the increased degree of financial control over the facility. A ublicl owned facility could be operated privately, eit~e~ by ~he_ P. - Y .... :~ ~ facility for the county or by an.ln~p~n~e~ con .... ~_ -~---~ of ~rlvate operations is that pri- vate firms generally have greater expertise in waste management. In addition, if the contract is awarded under a competitive bidding system, operating costs can be kept down. If a county decides to contract with a private firm to operate a waste facility, the county must administer the bidding process and monitor and enforce the terms of the contract. The tools of enforce- ment consist of the county's ability to withhold payments and ulti- mately cancel the contract if the firm does not meet minimum performance standards. The contract should be awarded on a competi- tive bid basis and should specify incentives for the contractor to maintain and improve efficiency. The contract period should not be