At its April 6, 2022 meeting, the City Commission approved a referral to the Finance and Economic Resiliency Committee (FERC) to discuss the solid waste commercial franchise hauler presentation, sponsored by Commissioner David Richardson.

At its May 4, 2022 meeting, the City Commission also approved a referral to FERC to discuss and to have the City consider establishing a maximum fee for waste hauler services for multi-family dwellings of less than 25 units, sponsored by Commissioner Alex Fernandez.   

At the request of the FERC Committee members on April 29, 2022, items from Commissioners Fernandez and Richardson were to be heard jointly at a future date.  Meanwhile, the committee members made a motion to bring the City's current Commercial Waste Hauler Contract (RFQ No. 2013-178-SR, set to expire on September 30, 2022), to the full City Commission to consider extending it on a month-to-month basis. 

At its July 20, 2022 meeting, the Mayor and City Commission approved the contract term extension on a month-to-month basis, for the non-exclusive commercial franchise waste contractor agreement and service agreement with Waste Management Inc. of Florida, and Waste Connections of Florida, Inc. for a period not to exceed September 30, 2023, via Resolution No. 2022-32228.

At its November 14, 2022, FERC meeting, the Public Works Department provided an updated solid waste commercial franchise hauler presentation, followed by comments from Waste Connections Inc. and Waste Management, detailing the particulars of their contracts, and options available to residents.  At the end of the discussion, a motion was made to:

• Return to the Committee and propose a specific or maximum fee (9-24 units) to establish within the City’s Code.
• Encourage those in the industry to reach out to Committee members to discuss. 
• Determine for the next Committee meeting, what other cities and municipalities are doing (caps, fees, etc.)
• Discuss franchise fees collected on the City’s behalf and provide analysis and comparison of other municipal franchise fees.

At its January 27, 2023 FERC meeting, Public Works provided a five-minute verbal update and findings for waste hauler services for multi-family dwellings of less than 25 units.  Based on the Public Works and City Attorney’s analysis, raising the cap from 9-24 units would require an amendment of the City Code (Section 90-97), which states “Collection by single-family waste contractors. All solid waste generated by single-family residences and multifamily residences of eight units or less shall be collected, conveyed and disposed of by a single-family waste contractor(s)."  Additionally, two contractual options were said to be possible:

• Issue a separate RFP for the 9-24 (buildings under 8 units are considered residential under the current Exclusive contract).

• Bid waiver on the current Exclusive contract to negotiate an extension and include the new pricing structure for 9-24-unit threshold.  This would require a 5/7 vote approval.

At the end of the verbal update, Committee members made a motion to:

• Have the Administration meet with Commissioner Fernández to discuss the possibility of a code amendment to include less than 25 units into a single family residential Exclusive agreement.
• Provide a presentation of the franchise fees, analysis and comparison.

At its February 17, 2023 FERC meeting, Public Works provided an updated solid waste hauler and commercial franchise hauler presentation.  The presentation listed two options for maximum fee for multi-family dwellings with less than 25 units, based on staff and City Attorney's analysis.

The Administration's recommendation was to have a minimum of 3 haulers (the two existing and a third local provider) in order to maintain a competitive market. The 3-hauler option was well received by Committee members, however, it was said to be preferred to have a fourth hauler as an alternate, in the event that one of the haulers dropped out due to unforeseen circumstances, and it could easily be replaced with via a contract clause.   At the end of the discussion a motion was made to:

• Come back in March with an update
• Have the Administration further analyze the 3-hauler option and an alternate, should one of them drop out. 
• Work with Commissioners Arriola and Fernandez on the cap (if not a numerical cap, a yearly percentage escalation fee that would be capped).
• Gather additional feedback from waste haulers if needed.
• Have the Administration work on a draft RFQ that would be ready in the next couple of months.
• Once a decision is arrived at the March FERC meeting, take the item to the full City Commission for approval.

Administration recommendations:

• 9-24 MF Units: The Administration recommends either Option 1 (RFP Option/ Exclusive Agreement) for the Multi Family 9-24 Units or Option 2 (RFQ Option/Commercial Non-Exclusive Agreements) existing model.

• Commercial Franchise Agreements: The Administration recommends awarding Non-Exclusive Franchise Agreements (RFQ). The number of haulers will be dictated by the number of responses received but as a minimum we recommend three (3).