San Jose, Calif., amends waste hauler contract
Four years ago, San Jose, Calif., Mayor Ron Gonzales brokered a controversial deal to spend $11.4 million to cover labor increases for the city’s largest waste hauler in order to avert a potential garbage strike. According to The Mercury News, despite warnings from several council members who said the city was not obligated to bail the company out of its labor problems, the deal was finally approved on Tuesday. By amending the waste hauler’s contract, some council members said it would set a dangerous precedent and open the doors for city contractors to seek more money than they had originally bid for other jobs. Opponents are critical of the timing of the request, which follows a three-year rate increase in garbage rates. Gonzales says, however, that the new deal will not result in another hike in trash fees. The money will be taken, instead, from a separate city garbage fund that contains money in revenue that already came from taxpayers.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/9728410.htm