The following is a letter to all the council members of the City of Apache Junction that was delivered to them on Sept. 10.
While my home address is about a mile outside the city limits, I have an interest in a residential property along with family and friends within the city limits. I feel that this gives me a legitimate reason to involve myself with this issue.
While I received one response to the letter, it did not address any of the concerns and questions I raised.
The more I research this issue the more I find questions that should be raised and answered before the City Council acts on this proposal. What is the council's legal authority for granting this proposed monopoly? If residents must vote on water and sewer utilities as cited in the Independent newspaper issue of October 2019, why are trash services exempt from vote? I don't have the answers at this time.
Other questions include "If I join with a neighbor to use one trash can (to share the cost) will I still be required to pay Republic Services? How will the city know I'm sharing a trash can through the proposed audit system?"
You may have even more concerns and questions than I have raised. Please think carefully about this issue and contact your council members with your opinions. Your voice, pro or con, needs to be heard.
The letter:
Dear Council Member,
I am writing about the proposal to monopolize residential trash service in the City of Apache Junction. I am hoping that you will take the time to address some of my concerns and issues with this proposal at the next council meeting when this issue is on the agenda.
My first question to you is why are you considering this issue at all? Was this proposed by Apache Junction residents? If so, how many/what percentage of the residents proposed this monopoly? Was this proposed by one of the three companies now doing business within the city? Did the council see a problem about the current services without input from residents or one of the companies serving the city.
Because the City of Apache Junction has never supplied residential trash service, cost to the city need not be considered as a reason for proposing a monopoly for trash service. However, I wish to note that cost to the city was the only reason I was given when researching why other cities had gone to a contract trash service.
I have heard concerns about infrastructure damage to the city and that this monopoly will address these concerns. Have there been any studies comparing road wear by the use of only one trash compared to two or more companies? Have you reviewed these studies if they are available? Were the studies done by trash services or by independent entities?
As part of the infrastructure issue I have been told that people are seeing trash trucks on their streets every day. The city already limits residential trash service to Monday and Thursday. Are they seeing residential trash trucks? Do they know the difference between a residential truck and a commercial truck? Are they aware that commercial trucks are not limited to specific days? If they are seeing residential trucks every day and have brought this to your notice, how have you addressed this issue?
Another concern I have heard has to do with code-compliance and community-health issues. How will a monopoly improve these issues? Will a monopoly allow either the city or the company to force someone to use the service i.e. to put their trash in the can and to put the can out for pick up? Will a monopoly give the city any more power to address code compliance or health issues?
Having previously lived next door to a hoarder, I know personally how annoying and distasteful that can be. However, hoarding is a recognized mental health issue and I cannot see how a trash service monopoly will improve these situations. Is there any evidence that forcing a hoarder to pay for a trash service ends the hoarding? For those residents who are not hoarders yet are causing complaints from neighbors, how does a monopoly improve these situations? Will granting a monopoly change a "slob" from being a "slob"?
The proposed auditing system by the city will only ensure that the trash company awarded the monopoly is getting paid by every resident. It does not ensure that every resident is actually using the service.
I am also concerned about the issue of free enterprise. This proposal seems to be the opposite of free enterprise by forcing the residents of this city to become customers of one private business. Freedom of choice to become a customer of any type of business should be an important consideration before any city, state or country proposes or implements any type of a private business monopoly upon its citizens.
Because the City of Apache Junction has left trash service choice up to its residents, your proposal, if implemented, will force people to do business with a company they may have had problems dealing with.
Some residents may prefer doing business with a smaller company than with a large company because they feel a smaller company has better customer service. Or they may just like the color of the trash cans of one company over another company. The choice of where and with whom people do their business is not always just cost.
Your proposal to grant a monopoly to a private business seems to be encouraging the development of the kind of situations that resulted in the monopolies of the past i.e. oil, steel and phone monopolies. All those giant monopolies started as much smaller businesses. Of course any business wants to have all the customers it can. However, removing competitors by means of granting a private business a monopoly is not necessarily in the best interest of the customers forced to comply with such a monopoly. Taking away competition may result in a lack of attention to customer needs and problems. Having no competition may result in a lack of improving services since the customer can't go elsewhere for the same service.
I have been informed that monopolizing residential trash service is the trend for smaller cities. In my research into this trend I have found that those cities that monopolized did so to reduce city costs. As this is not an applicable reason for Apache Junction to monopolize this service, why must Apache Junction join this trend?
I do understand that the proposed monopoly will reduce trash-service rates for some, perhaps over half, of the city's residents. However, cost is not the only consideration that should be taken into account when proposing a private business monopoly.
I noted that in the information made available at the Sept. 3 council meeting --- Arizona Administrative code title 18, chapter 13, article 3, R18-13-305 --- was cited in an answer to enforcing mandatory trash service for everyone. Having read the cited code, I saw nothing about enforcement. However, the answer to enforcement in the prepared information states that the city will be able to enforce trash collection through an update to the city code. The city code to be updated was not mentioned.
The routine audit mentioned will ensure that all residents are paying the monopoly, but does not mention enforcement. The same questions about hoarders and "slobs" remain. Why is the city not able to make mandatory trash collection for everyone without granting a monopoly?
Another point made in the prepared information was about an extra surcharge on transition to Republic Services. RAD has no can removal charge. Waste Management has a can-removal charge of up to $75. WM customers will not be refunded for any time of service left in the billing cycle if the transition occurs during a billing cycle. Republic Services also has the same type of charges should you consider a different company for this proposed monopoly.
I also noted that the prepared information did not address the initial set-up of service cost to those residents forced to change companies. Are you aware of what those costs will be? Have you arranged to have such costs exempted?
I am sure that you have spent time and effort on this issue. I can understand that a way to reduce costs for a possibly large number of residents is very appealing. However, I feel that as the City of Apache Junction has never supplied residential trash service it is inappropriate for the City Council to promote a private business monopoly for such service. I feel that it would be more appropriate to let the residents themselves decide if they want to grant a private business a monopoly for this service.
I look forward to hearing your responses to the questions and concerns I have raised at the next City Council meeting when this issue is on the agenda.
