February 23, 1994
Ms. Karen Liskey
RE:
Dear Ms. Liskey:
Please find enclosed the City of
We hope that the Maryland Municipal League finds the Carroll County Unified Municipal Solid Waste Management and Recycling Services Program an innovative approach towards reducing costs incurred by small municipalities in the provision of public services. We look forward to hearing from you. If there are any question, or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me at (410) 876-1313, extension 9002.
Very truly yours,
Thomas B. Beyard
Director of Planning and Public Works
TBB/KLT:klt
cc: Mayor and Common Council
APPLICATION
FOR
THE
ELEVENTH ANNUAL
AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE
Submitted by
The City of
for the
Management and Recycling Services Program
Population Category: Over 10,000 population
Respectfully,
W. Benjamin Brown
Mayor
Contact Person: Mr. Thomas B. Beyard
Director of Planning and Public Works
(410) 876-1313, extension 9002
OVERVIEW
Seven of the eight municipalities within
The municipalities which solicited the unified bid included the Town of
The waste management company which submitted the lowest sealed bid was awarded contracts with five of the municipalities. The Town of
SAVINGS
Evidence that the service could be provided at a lower cost under a unified bid scheme was available since five of municipalities had already received individual bids. The contract for
Specifically, the unified bid approach will save
Under this unified bid approach only
Moreover, the cost savings did not end with the signing of the contracts. The bid specified curbside collection of recyclable products, such as glass, paper, and plastic. The contracts went into effect in August of 1993, and during Fiscal Year 1992-93 the combined curbside recycling rate averaged 18.7 percent. With the curbside recycling program, the five participating municipalities saved over $53,500.00 in avoided landfill tipping fees during FY 1992-93, in addition to the savings already described.
APPLICABILITY TO OTHER LOCALITIES AND PUBLIC SERVICES
This type of unified bid scheme can reduce costs to small individual municipalities which must contract with private sector companies for municipal services. Enlarging the number of units serviced by joint approaches allows the provider to experience economies of scale, and offer the service at a lower cost. Small municipalities can then provide the types of services at a cost comparable to that which are typically only found in more densely populated areas.
Furthermore, a unified approach eliminated duplication of efforts, such as the cost of advertising a "Request for Bids" and the cost of supplying bid documents. With the unified approach these costs are borne by several municipalities, and, therefore, are spread equally among them. It is not necessary for each to publish a separate advertisement or prepare and supply copies of the bid document to every interested company. Staff time is also saved in the preparation process, since each municipality does not have to create and produce and individual bid.
This program does not add any additional costs to the process of requesting and awarding bids for public services which must be contracted out to private companies. When public services can be provided at a lower rate, the savings can be used to lower, or maintain, the tax rate. Ultimately, the taxpayer experiences the real savings.
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Environmentalism Solid Waste Management,
