Politics & Government

Should Moorestown Outsource Its Trash Collection?

A representative told council sanitation workers provide a "community service, not a for-profit enterprise" and urged an open dialogue between both sides.

Township officials pledged to meet with sanitation employees and their representatives after they turned out in force Monday in protest of potential outsourcing.

The township put out a request for proposals (RFP) in September to see what kind of rates and services it could get from private trash haulers.

Adam Liebtag, president of the Communication Workers of America (CWA) Local 1036, which represents Moorestown’s sanitation workers, criticized the township during Monday’s council meeting for a lack of transparency and dialogue so far in the process.

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“The RFP was issued with very little public debate or discussion,” said Liebtag, who was accompanied by roughly a dozen or so employees. “We want to make sure the process going forward is open, public and transparent.”

Township manager Scott Carew pushed back on Liebtag’s claim, insisting he met with CWA representatives a few days prior to the RFP being advertised to discuss the issue.

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“You’re entitled to your opinion,” Liebtag said. “That’s not our understanding.”

“That’s not my opinion, that’s fact,” Carew replied.

Liebtag outlined the often intangible value the sanitation employees provide the township: workers born and raised in Moorestown who take pride in their profession, familiar faces residents know by name, the extra hours put in helping on other Public Works jobs—some of which were not included in the RFP (i.e. snow plowing).

“It really is a community service, not a for-profit enterprise,” he said. “Waste management companies care about their clients, to be sure, but they are a business interest … Your sanitation department serves only one interest, which is the residents of Moorestown.”

Liebtag explained that sanitation workers have continued to provide a high level of service, despite increases in the town’s population—and subsequently, the department’s workload—and decreases in the work force’s size. As recently as May, he said, the department received a certificate of appreciation from Mayor Stacey Jordan.

“So there’s clearly a recognition that they do excellent work, and they’re doing it with reduced staff, reduced resources, and an increased demand,” Liebtag said.

For their part, Carew and council were sympathetic to Liebtag’s impassioned defense.

“Everything you’re saying about the value that the division provides, with all the extracurricular stuff, that’s not lost on me, and I don’t believe it’s lost on council,” said Carew. “We’re not looking to change for the sake of change. I personally see the value. I live in town.”

Jordan also assured Liebtag and the sanitation workers in attendance that council not taking the possibility of outsourcing lightly.

“This is really, truly an exercise in us as a township trying to find out what the best practices are, what the best costs are, making our town efficient,” she said. “We need to vet it out, and we need to make sure we are doing the best for the township. If I wasn’t doing that, I wouldn’t be doing my job.”

A number of residents who got up to speak also came to the sanitation employees' defense. 

"Money is not always what should make the determination," said Monique Begg. "They are local residents. They are our people."

Township officials estimate outsourcing could result in significant savings, though they haven’t cited specific numbers. The township has been working with TrashPro, a solid waste and recycling consulting business that currently serves 37 states, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands and military bases across the country.

TrashPro President Robb Willis told Patch last month that many towns in Burlington County have begun outsourcing trash collection, and claimed some towns have saved between $800,000 and $1 million.

Carew said bids are due Nov. 14.

Liebtag asked council to meet with the CWA and sanitation workers once bids were received, “before it appears on a council agenda.” Carew said he would arrange to meet with them prior to the RFP deadline, along with councilmen Chris Chiacchio and Greg Newcomer, who both volunteered to be part of the discussions.


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