HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 4.08 Solid Waste Franchise Audit
CITY CLERK
File # D~[Q]-~~
AGENDA STATEMENT
CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: November 21,2006
SUBJECT:
Request for Proposal for an Audit of the Exclusive and
Nonexclusive Solid Waste Franchises.
Report by Roger Bradley, Administrative Analyst
ATTACHMENTS: Draft Request for Proposal.
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RECOMMENDATION: '_ '\ Receive report and authorize Staff to distribute the Request for
'!\ Proposal or provide additional direction.
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FINANCIAL STATEMENT:
Funds have been allocated for this project in the 2006/2007 Budget.
DESCRIPTION: The Fiscal Year 200612007 City Council Goals & Objectives
Program includes a high priority task to conduct an audit of both ofthe City's exclusive and nonexclusive
(C&D) solid waste collection franchises. The goal of this audit is to determine the accuracy of diversion
reporting to the City by each franchisee as well as the accuracy ofthe franchise fees submitted to the City.
Specifically, using the guidelines set forth in the franchise agreements, the audit will:
. Review onsite franchisee operations to verifY financial data, disposal and/or refuse transfer,
recycling and green waste collection and procession,. commodity sales, vehicle types and other
capital, numbers of personnel, and. operational data such as routes and accounts.
. VerifY franchise revenues collected by each franchise participant, and evaluate the accuracy of
franchise fees submitted to the City.
. Review the billing procedures for the exclusive franchise agreement to ensure accuracy of charges
to residents, which have services provided above the minimum service level.
. Review operating statistics to gain an understanding of past historical trends as they relate to future
diversion rates and franchise fee submittal projections.
. Investigate unusual trends to determine their cause and effect on future performance.
. Include meetings with representatives of each franchise participant to review the method used to
quantifY their disposal, diversion, and recycling percentages.
COpy TO:
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ITEM NO. \1.'0
F:\Council\Agenda Statements\as-Waste Audit RFP.doc
. Include preparation of a technical report, assessing the reasonableness and accuracy of methods
used to quantify diversion rates.
. Determine the flow of disposed/diverted material; i.e., at which facility materials are first taken to
and the path/methodology that is followed to the ultimate point of disposal or diversion for all
material types.
To accomplish these objectives, Staff has developed the attached Draft Request for Proposal for a
consultant to conduct the audit of all franchise participants. If approved by the City Council, the RFP
would be distributed on November 28,2006. Staff would conduct an evaluation ofthe firms submitting
proposals and negotiate an agreement with the most qualified firm, which would be taken to Council for
consideration of approval in early 2007.
RECOMMENDATION:
Receive report and authorize Staff to distribute the Request for
Proposal or provide additional direction.
Page20f2
Draft Request for Proposal
The City of Dublin is seeking a consultant to conduct an
Audit of the City's Exclusive and Nonexclusive Solid Waste
Franchises
Closing Date for Submittal of Proposals is
December 22, 2006
Contact Person
Roger Bradley
Administrative Analyst
100 Civic Plaza
Dublin, CA 94568
(925) 833-6650
INTRODUCTION
The City of Dublin hereby solicits proposals from qualified firms to perform an audit of its
exclusive solid waste franchise hauler, Amador Valley Industries ("A VI"), as well as its
nonexclusive franchise haulers - Waste Management Inc. ("WM"), GreenWaste Recovery Inc.,
Sonrise Consolidated, A VI, Allied Waste Services, and Premier Recycle Company. The City
wishes to verify the accuracy of diversion reporting from its franchise haulers as well as ensure
that franchise fees have been accurately submitted.
About the Community
The City of Dublin is located in eastern Alameda County, approximately 35 miles southeast of
San Francisco. The City was incorporated in 1982 and now has a population of 41,907 within
14.57 square miles. Dublin is located at the intersection ofInterstates 580 and 680.
Franchise Agreements
The City is currently in the early stages of its franchise agreements. As of July 1, 2005, the City
entered into a new franchise agreement with A VI, which gave exclusive rights to provide solid
waste collection services. At the same time, the City also enacted a new Construction and
Demolition (C&D) ordinance, allowing nonexclusive rights to individual haulers to collect C&D
materials. The exclusive franchise agreement requires A VI to pay the City required franchise fee.
Gross revenues include any revenues associated with or received from any entity, including
Federal, State, County, or other local facilities, within the service area for the provision of
collection services. However, revenue received from the sale of recyclable materials and from
California Redemption Value (CRV) are not considered gross revenues for the purpose of
calculating franchise fees. For the nonexclusive agreements, franchise fees are payable on all
gross revenues received for the provision of collection services, including all amounts paid by
each customer as required by the City's franchise fee. In addition to the franchise fees, the
exclusive and nonexclusive agreements require a minimum diversion rate of 50%: annually for
the exclusive agreement and by weight for the nonexclusive agreement. The nonexclusive
agreement also has a requirement of 100% recycling of all concrete and asphalt collected.
SCOPE OF SERVICES
Using the guidelines set forth in the franchise agreements, the consultant will perform an onsite
review of franchisee operations to verify financial data, disposal and/or refuse transfer, recycling
and compostables collection and procession, commodity sales, vehicle types and other capital,
numbers of personnel, and operational data such as routes and accounts.
The consultant will take the following steps during its review of each franchisee:
. The consultant should verify the franchise revenues collected by each franchisee and
evaluate the accuracy of franchise fees submitted to the City.
. The consultant will review operating statistics to gain an understanding of past historical
trends as they relate to future diversion rates and franchise fee submittal projections. The
consultant should investigate unusual trends to determine their cause and effect on future
performance.
. The consultant will review the billing procedures for the exclusive franchise agreement to
ensure accuracy of charges to residents, which have services provided above the
minimum service level.
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. The consultant will meet with representatives of each franchise participant to review the
method used to quantify their disposal, diversion, and recycling percentages.
. The consultant will prepare a technical report for Staff, assessing the reasonableness and
accuracy of methods used to quantify diversion rates as well as the accuracy and
appropriateness of franchise fee submittal.
. The consultant will also determine the flow of disposed/diverted material; i.e., at which
facility materials are first taken to and the path/methodology that is followed to the
ultimate point of disposal or diversion for all material types.
Additional Service
In addition to the audits of the franchise haulers, please include a separate cost estimate of an
additional audit of the records of the City's disposal service provider, the Altamont Landfill, run
by WM. Specifically, the consultant will review gatehouse procedures for accuracy of assigning
disposal tonnages to the City of Dublin. The contractor will review the method used to quantify
their disposal reporting procedures. Consultant will include all findings in a technical report for
Staff, assessing the reasonableness and accuracy of methods used to quantify diversion rates, as
well as the methods used to recover recyclable/compostable materials. This review will cover the
period January 12, 2005 through December 31,2006. Any discrepancies or irregularities will be
noted and presented to Staff in the consultant's report.
DELIVERABLES
The reporting and review of the consultant's findings will be conducted in a manner that will
allow for maximum input from City Staff, franchise participants, and the public.
Progress Reports
Beginning two weeks after the approval of the consultant agreement by the City Council, the
consultant shall submit a written progress report to the City, indicating progress to complete the
project and meet the deadline of May 31,2007. The consultant shall submit a written progress
report in two-week increments following the initial report until all reports are finished.
First Draft Report
Upon completion of the proposed services, the consultant shall prepare the First Draft Report,
which shall be submitted to the City in accordance with the timeline established. Additionally, at
any time prior to submission of the First Draft Report, the consultant is encouraged to provide
interim findings and recommendations to franchisees for their review to verify the accuracy of
the consultant's findings. The City may request additional information/data from the consultant
to clarify assumptions, calculations, findings, and/or recommendations. Four (4) First Draft
Reports will be submitted to the City.
The First Draft Report must include all of the following:
. An executive summary.
. A discussion of the accuracy in diversion reporting.
. A discussion of the accuracy of the submission of franchise fees and revenues generated
from collection services.
. For the exclusive franchise, a discussion ofthe accuracy and appropriateness of customer
billing above the minimum service level.
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The City shall provide the consultant with any comments within two (2) weeks ofthe receipt of
the First Draft Report. As appropriate, the consultant shall incorporate the comments of the City
and be prepared to issue the Second Draft Report per the established timeline.
Final Draft Report
The Second Draft Report will be circulated to all franchisees. All comments on the Second Draft
Report should be submitted to the consultant, in writing, within two (2) weeks of release. As
appropriate, the consultant shall incorporate written comments and be prepared to issue its Final
Draft Report according to the established deadline of May 31,2007. Four (4) Final Draft Reports
will be submitted to the City.
The Final Draft Report will be considered final recommendations and findings for the City.
Other Deliverables
. The consultant may be expected to present study findings and recommendations at City
Council Meetings.
. The consultant will be expected to facilitate meetings between City Staff and franchise
participants.
. The consultant will provide materials for meetings/workshops and submit written notes
following each meeting.
. The consultant will provide a final written report presented both in hard copy and in an
electronic format.
PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS
Four (4) copies of the proposal should be submitted to the City Manager's Office by 5:00 p.m.
on December 22, 2006. Proposals may be hand delivered or mailed to 100 Civic Plaza, Dublin
CA, 94568, Attn: Solid Waste and Recycling Department. Proposals must be received by the
aforementioned date and time. Post marks will not be accepted. The following information
should be provided:
. A narrative describing the firm's approach to accomplishing the project.
. A summary of the firm's background and capabilities, including information on the
firm's history and areas of specialization, or particular expertise as it relates to this
proj ect.
. Identification and background of any other consultants who are proposed to assist with
this project.
. A statement of qualifications including a list of relevant projects that the firm has
completed which are similar to the project described above. Submittals should include
reference names and current phone numbers. (Minimum of three (3) references.)
· Proposed project schedule and milestones.
. In a separate sealed envelop labeled "FEE PROPOSAL," include the consultant fee
proposal for the project with cost breakdown of tasks and an hourly fee schedule. Please
include a separate cost estimate for the additional audit of the disposal service facility, the
Altamont Landfill, run by WM, as described above.
SELECTION PROCESS
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After reviewing the proposals, the City may conduct interviews with qualified firms. If the City
chooses to conduct interviews, it will notify selected consultants after the proposal submittal date
to arrange a time. If deemed necessary, interviews will be conducted during the first week of
January 2007.
The following criteria will be used in evaluating proposals:
. Understanding of the project.
. Education and experience of key personnel.
. Quality of completed work.
. Experience on similar projects.
. Ability to meet schedules.
It is anticipated that an agreement will be taken to the City Council for approval in January 2007,
with work to commence immediately thereafter.
THE CITY OF DUBLIN MAY REJECT ANY AND ALL PROPOSALS
If there are any questions pertaining to this proposal, please contact Roger Bradley,
Administrative Analyst, by phone at (925) 833-6650 or by email at
roger.bradley@ci.dublin.ca.us prior to December 11, 2006.
Attachment: Standard City of Dublin Consultant Services Agreement
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