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Posted on Fri, Mar. 27, 2009

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Wichita City Council candidates not sold on trash franchising

BY DEB GRUVER

The Wichita Eagle

WICHITA - Torn between the pro of cutting rates and the con of cutting choices, candidates for Wichita City Council have mixed feelings about franchising trash service.

Sedgwick County wants all cities to franchise trash by 2011 -- to reduce truck travel on neighborhood streets, to bolster recycling and to help families cut their trash bills.

Some candidates oppose the idea. They say they're not about to do anything that could put smaller haulers out of business by giving one company the city's trash.

Others still are considering the possibility.

The theory that franchising saves money and wear and tear on roads is this: Instead of four or five companies coming to your neighborhood each week to pick up trash, one would. Trash pickup would become more efficient -- and thus, less expensive.

Proponents also say that franchising would make recycling more affordable, encouraging more people to sort their trash rather than dump it.

The county isn't forcing the cities to comply but has said it "expects" them to.

Several communities -- such as Andale, Bentley, Cheney, Clearwater, Eastborough, Mount Hope and Sedgwick -- have contracts with one hauler. Others -- such as Bel Aire, Kechi and Park City -- have a contract but allow residents to choose other haulers.

Wichita, like Goddard and Maize, so far hasn't franchised trash.

Bob Aldrich, a candidate for District 6, didn't have to think long about the issue.

"I am totally opposed to franchising trash hauling," he said. "I am not going to be part of putting any small businesses out of business. I believe in less government because I think that's the best government."

Dividing the city into trash districts and letting haulers bid on a district for a five- or 10-year period might work, he said. But if Wichita goes to one hauler for the entire city, he said, "There goes your free enterprise, there goes your free market."

He also wants recycling efforts to be thoughtful. Originally from southern California, he remembers when cities there forced residents to recycle. Three separate trucks came to his father's home to pick up plastic, glass, aluminum and other materials.

"You talk about wear and tear," he said.

His opponent, Janet Miller, says she sees the positives of franchising but also doesn't want to put haulers out of business.

"I certainly think it's something we need to look at," she said. "But I need to delve into it deeper on both the pros and cons.

"What I would like to learn most about is how other communities have done it successfully in ways that incorporate all of the existing haulers."

Jim Skelton, running for re-election in District 3, said more research is needed.

"Staff needs to take a full-fledged look at this, and we need to move forward on this issue as a council," he said. "All cities bigger than us have some form of franchised trash service or a municipally operated utility.

"And recycling around here is laughable. There is no culture of recycling here."

City staff, he said, have shown that trash trucks have contributed to deteriorating streets.

Micro-franchising __ dividing the city into smaller areas __ could be a solution, he said, "but if you break the city up into sections, I don't know if it's five or 15. We've got a lot of work to do."

Chuck Dahlem, Skelton's opponent, said franchising would be unfair.

"I just believe in the free market system and letting the market dictate how it's going to be," he said. "I think the smaller haulers have a vested interest to be against it."

District 3 residents haven't raised franchising as an issue in his discussions with them, he said.

Wichita residents shouldn't "be forced by the government to tell them who can and cannot haul their trash," said District 1 candidate James Barfield.

The argument that franchising would reduce wear and tear on streets doesn't sway him. Wichita's streets, he said, are in poor shape because they haven't been a priority.

The real issue is that "we've neglected our city streets here for the last several years," Barfield said.

"I don't see where the trash service as it is today is doing that much deteriorating to the streets," he said.

He doesn't believe franchising will emerge as a top issue of the campaign.

The county isn't pressuring Wichita -- at least not yet, said Lavonta Williams, who is running for re-election in District 1.

She does believe that truck traffic from trash hauling affects the city's roads.

"Absolutely," she said. "We've seen the information about how many trucks go down our streets."

She praised neighborhood groups for negotiating better rates for residents who pool together and agree to work with one company.

"I give a lot of respect to the neighborhood associations for going on their own and appreciate the trash services that are giving people a break on that," she said.

She also said that those deals are helping encourage more people to recycle.

But before she commits to franchising citywide, she wants to know more about the economic impact on all haulers.

"During this economic depression, I would not want to put anyone else out of business," she said.

Reach Deb Gruver at 316-268-6400 or dgruver@wichitaeagle.com.