If ultimately adopted by a future Council, the net result would eliminate the current ability of individual businesses and apartment owners to choose waste hauling firms from among competitors that offer them the best prices and terms (from their individual standpoints.)

Agenda item lead proponent Vice Mayor Rex Richardson (joined by co-agendizers Gonzalez and Andrews) said in their agendizing memo that the new system would limit "inefficient overlapping truck routes," produce "environmental, health, and safety impacts," help meet a "zero waste" policy," promote recycling and re-use (composing) while reducing "unnecessary wear and tear on local streets and alleys" and creating "a pipeline for local jobs and training."

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Details of exactly how LB City Hall would implement an exclusive franchise system for waste haulers will be decided by future Council action (at the earliest) five years from now based on a now-commencing City Hall conducted "study" (that Councilmembers said will include input from a City Hall selected "task force" of "stakeholders" including businesses and apartment owners.)

Sponsor

Sponsor

Enabling city government control (instead of individual choices) of prices and terms for waste hauling has been an advocacy goal of the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE), an advocacy group with representatives of organized labor among its leadership. Councilwoman Pearce recused herself at the opening of discussion of the agenda item without explanation publicly; after the Council meeting, her Chief of Staff told LBREPORT.com (email) that Pearce recused herself because LAANE "advocated for the particular item. Due to City regulations and to the fact that Councilmember Pearce worked for LAANE prior to the election, it would be considered unethical for her to vote on such items until a year after she originally took office."

The Richardson-Gonzalez-Andrews agenda item was supported by "Don't Waste Long Beach," a group with ties to LAANE.

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Sponsor: Computer Repair Long Beach

No city staff report accompanied the agenda item; it originated with Richardson-Gonzalez-Andrews and was presented by Richardson accompanied by a sophisticated Power Point presentation. The agendizers didn't propose to send their proposal first to a Council committee (an optional step allowing for detailed discussion by parties, pro and con, before full Council action); instead, they sought and got Council approval to launch the process (with no Councilmembers raising the option of Committee discussion.)

In presenting his agenda item, Vice Mayor Richardson argued that letting City Hall choose the waste hauling firms and reducing the number of operators would mean lower prices for businesses and apartment owners on grounds the City would have greater bargaining power with waste haulers than individual businesses and apartment buildings (likening the process to health care insurance "exchanges.") No Councilmembers expressed any disagreement with this reasoning.

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Sponsor

A number of environmental groups and some neighborhood organizations supported the action.

However the Council of Neighborhood Organizations (recently revived under Robert Fox, a veteran community advocate who has a number of apartment holdings) disputed Vice Mayor Richardson's figures on cost decreases...and said he has data from other cities showing cost increases. CONO argued against issuing the five year notice but asked that it be included in the "task force" that is supposed to provide input for the study but urged Council not to give a five year notice.

A veteran government affairs advocate for LB's organized apartment owners, Mike Murchison, didn't oppose giving the five year notice but said his client would strongly oppose any study that resulted in City Hall setting prices, terms or otherwise preventing apartment owners (or businesses) from choosing from among competing waste hauling firms. Also opposed was the L.A. County Waste Management Association" (opposed issuing the "five year" notice)

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Councilwoman Stacy Mungo offered a number of friendly amendments (some of which Richardson accepted while calling others unnecessary) that Mungo contended would promote competition within the framework of City Hall decided exclusive franchises.

No representatives of LB's organized business community (Chamber of Commerce, DLBA, et al.) testified on the agenda item