June 15, 2023
City of Rancho Mirage
Council Chambers
69825 Hwy 111
Rancho Mirage, CA. 92270
760.341.4511 Ext: 211 (J. Pulliam, Management Analyst) -recycl i ng@ranchom irage.gov Re: Written Protest in opposition of Increasing Residential sol id waste maximums rates Dear current City Council members,
This letter is in opposition of the current proposed future residentia l property rate lncrease(s) for solid waste disposa l services from the company: Burrtec Waste and Recycling Services ("Burrtec").
Please be aware, that the most recent negotiated service contract between the City of Rancho Mirage and "Burrtec" fo r waste hauling services have been devastating to Rancho Mirage City Residents.
Disposal service's were reduced and costs have Increased for Burrtec served properties. The City of Rancho Mirage made the very poor decision to negativity Impact City Residents with the early Implementation of Ca lifornia's SB1383 -other Coachella Valley Cit ies have chosen to wait (California AB - 1985 Implementation) with integrati ng Ca li fornia's SB1383, In turn saving money and being better equipped for future success with that progressive State-wide program .
City of Rancho Mirage coll ected garbage volume amounts (can sizes) were reduced in overall volume size(s) combined with reducing collected "green waste" amounts and removing one day a week d isposa l services for "Yard Trimmi ngs" -plus being provided ONLY one (1) -35 gallon sized cart (can) for a mature landscaped yard is not feasib le for most Rancho Mirage properties (Homeowners) that have "No" other avenues to maintain thei r property landscapes (Green waste disposal) -the ability of having pr ivate sector companies (Gardner's) that are equipped to remove landscape debris from properties without undue influence of the size or amounts of "Green Waste" to be removed are out of reach for many City Residents. The current restrictions set on "Yard Trimmings" reciprocal size and numbers of carts (cans) have and wi ll continue to be a great burden on many Res i dents with potential negative consequences.
Having contract language of Increased "Infl ationary adjustments" that w ill be set for five (5) years is very unusual and costly to ratepayers. Havi ng annual adjustments set from a very questionable (not acceptable/accurate) Consumer Price I ndex (CPI) for several areas (two potential different CP I areas) that are Far-Removed from our community in the Coache lla Va lley of Riverside County is unethica l and
subverts the ratepayers abil ities to demonstrate against rate i ncreases that don't compar e to real-world local i zed reported inflationary expectation s.
Furthermore, it's very like ly that most Residents didn't accept the mailed "Notice of Public Hearing" due to its deceptive unmarked sender and being addressed only to "Rancho Mirage Resident" and having a "PR SRT STD U.S . POSTAGE PA ID" printed stamp -that letter appeared to be junk ma il, and was l ikely discarded by many people.
Also, the Rancho Mirage City Website was deceptive in its organizationa l structure t hat posted In formation of t h e Public Hearing of Burrtec's proposed rate lncrease(s). Having out of order (dates ) of it's Public Hearings cou ld eas ily have interested viewers (potential Resident's) confused and unable to confirm upcoming Pub lic Hearing. Please consider that the City's Website didn't reference Burrtec's proposed rate Increases (Publi c Hearing) other t hen "One" location that was access ible to the Public.
And l ast ly, the Current area-wide Newspaper has become unobtainab le for many City/Coach ella Valley Resident's due to it's required payment restrictions.
And most importantly, the printed Notice of Public Hearing ON LY referenced "written protests" that are submitted for Rancho Mirage City Council co nsid eration will determine if a majority protest exists . It appears that any Public testimony (verba l commu nications) wi ll have No bearing on t he City of Ranc ho Mirage Cou ncil in regard s to the adoption of necessary arrangeme nts to raise disposal rates.
Plea se consider not raising costs unti l City of Rancho M irage Resident's are able to be confirmed of notification of City conducted Public Heari ngs that will potentially cause financial obligation s to ratepayers within the City.
Sincere ly,
Brad Anderson I 37043 Ferbe r Dr. Rancho Mirage, CA. 92270