KENNER, La. (WGNO) — After claiming it was overcharged for trash services with IV Waste, the Kenner City Council has approved a new waste and recycling contract with a new provider.
On Friday, the city entered into a new agreement with contractor Ramelli Janitorial Services with new recycling bins expected to go out next week.
The decision comes after city leaders claimed they were overcharged by IV Waste for services like recycling and upkeep of the drop-off site. City leaders late suspended payments to IV Waste, believing the charges went against their agreement.
However, IV Waste over Sidney Torres filed a suit, claiming it was the city that was in violation of the contract. The city then countersued, claiming Torres was engaging in unfair and deceptive business practices.
With the new agreement came both support and opposition to the decision. Those at the meeting spoke on their stance with WGNO on Friday.
Support
In a letter to the City, Citizens for a Better Kenner president Richard Brown claims that not only is Kenner overcharged for recycling services, but IV Waste is not properly handling the waste.
“I am convinced that IV Waste has been over-billing the city for various services and has not properly handled our recycling, with much of it going to the landfill resulting in still additional charges to the city.”
Opposition
Those against the new contract were also at Friday’s city council meeting.
“It was frustrating to residents in Kenner because Ramelli didn’t do their job.”
IV Waste Response
A spokesperson with IV Waste provided a response to the City of Kenner’s discussion, claiming that the city has made false statements regarding the contract:
Kenner’s claim of overbilling by IV Waste is unsupported.
The City of Kenner has stated that a reason it brought Ramelli back to perform recycling is because IV Waste overbilled the City for years. But IV Waste only billed the City amounts allowed by its contract and approved by the City. It has given the City explanations and back-up documentation for all charges, but the City has mostly ignored that information. This is why IV Waste is asking a Judge to review the contract and make the decision about whether there has been any overbilling, which it denies.
Kenner has short-paid IV Waste with no explanation.
Even though IV Waste has given the City back-up for its monthly charges, the City short-paid IV Waste for its January work and services by over $65,000. IV Waste asked the City more than once to explain the short-pay, but the City has ignored it and not given any reasons. The City is not honoring its obligation under the contract to pay IV Waste for the work it performed.
IV Waste made an offer to the City that would have saved it money.
To resolve the City’s concerns about costs and to avoid litigation, IV Waste made an offer to the City at the end of 2022 to perform all services required under the contract, including recycling, for an amount that is less than what the contract requires the City to pay. The City did not respond to the offer but instead notified IV Waste that it was suspending recycling services by IV Waste effective March 1. Although the City told IV Waste this was because it could not afford it, the City then turned around and agreed to pay Ramelli to pick up recycling. The City has also announced it is buying all-new recycling bins, which could cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars. The City never once asked IV Waste about purchasing its bins for a reduced price.
Although the City could have compromised with IV Waste and saved money, it instead took steps that led to a lawsuit and legal fees for the City. It is now paying two service providers, and it is unnecessarily spending significant funds to buy brand-new roll-out recycling bins.
The Court will decide whether IV Waste should still be the recycling service provider on April 19.
IV Waste did not threaten to stop recycling on March 1, as the City has stated. It believes the contract requires the City to continue to use IV Waste for that service. It looks forward to its day in Court on April 19, when the Court will decide if the City could cancel IV Waste’s recycling services and bring in a new contractor to perform that work on March 1.
Recycling FAQs
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