Dive Summary:
- Questions are being raised in Ballwin, Missouri over a 10 year no-bid contract extension awarded to Allied Waste. Just months before the contract was awarded, a city administrator admitted to receiving a World Series ticket from the company. (Face value was just $250.)
- Competitors, Waste Management and IESI, appeared before the city council asking for a public contract process and a chance to show that they could reduce the county's waste costs. The appeal was ultimately rejected. Allied Waste has not faced a competitive bid in Ballwin since 1995.
- The local CBS affiliate reports that a ten year contract extension is unprecedented in the area. Most local waste contracts are only five years. Allied Waste reportedly asked for the extension before deciding to invest in CNG vehicles for the area.
From the article:
City Administrator Robert Kuntz watched the Cardinals win the World Series as a guest of Allied Waste, months before his city inked a decade-long, no-bid contract with the company.
That’s one piece of new information surfacing in just-obtained City Hall emails, which help explain how the deal came together.
Kuntz confirmed the World Series tickets gift in a message sent to three aldermen last week, adding that the face value was $250.00.
Competitors say ten years for a refuse contract is unprecedented among St. Louis County municipalities. For example, the county itself just signed five-year contracts for unincorporated areas.
