All five supervisors voted to award the 10-year solid waste hauling contract for North County zones to MarBorg on Tuesday. About 60 people from Waste Management, the current contractor, came to the meeting to ask for the county to reconsider and renegotiate with WM. (Giana Magnoli / Noozhawk photo)
All five supervisors voted to award the 10-year solid waste hauling contract for North County zones to MarBorg on Tuesday. About 50 people from Waste Management, the current contractor, came to the meeting to ask for the county to reconsider and renegotiate with WM. (Giana Magnoli / Noozhawk photo)

“Please reconsider” was a plea echoed by the 27 Waste Management workers and family members who spoke during public comment at the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday.

Those pleas were not enough to sway the board members, who voted 5-0 to approve the proposed franchise agreement between the county and MarBorg Industries for a solid waste collection and hauling contract for North County unincorporated areas. 

Waste Management is the current provider for these zones, and with the new contract, which starts in 2024, MarBorg will serve all five of the county’s unincorporated zones.

The company currently has contacts for South County Zones 1, 2, and 3, as well as the cities of Buellton, Goleta and Santa Barbara. 

The contract applies to residential, multi-family and commercial solid waste, recyclables, organics, and special waste collection services for 10 years starting July 1, 2024.

Four companies submitted proposals for the contract, including the current provider, Waste Management; MarBorg Industries; E.J. Harrison and Sons; and Waste Connections.

MarBorg’s proposal offered lower rates and agreed to the county’s draft franchise agreement, according to staff.

“WM is more than a company, we’re a family,” said Justin Honsinger, WM public sector manager, during public comment Tuesday.

He asked everyone in the room from WM to stand up, showing there were numerous WM employees and supporters in the crowd.

“These are your people that are out every single day that live, work, and operate in this community,” Honsinger said to the board. “Their tax dollars go back to this community. Everything goes back to this county; it’s a partnership.” 

Other employees for WM told the supervisors about their long careers at the company, how WM provided access to free higher education, and how they think changing contract companies would disrupt solid waste service in the community.

Angel Serna, right, spoke during public comment on behalf of his father, left, who has worked for Waste Management for 25 years. He said his father moved up from a sorter to a supervisor, and that Waste Management help him get his commercial driving license. The company supports employees furthering their careers, he said. (Giana Magnoli / Noozhawk photo)
Angel Serna, right, spoke during public comment on behalf of his father, left, who has worked for Waste Management for 25 years. He said his father moved up from a sorter to a supervisor, and that Waste Management help him get his commercial driving license. The company supports employees furthering their careers, he said. (Giana Magnoli / Noozhawk photo)

MarBorg’s Derek Carlson, vice president of finance and contracts, assured the supervisors that there will be a smooth transition from WM to MarBorg Industries for the community and employees.

“MarBorg has gone through this process several times,” Carlson said. “We offered first opportunity employment to all the employees that were affected by the changing contract.” 

Carlson also said employees have been able to transfer to MarBorg with the same level of seniority that they held with their previous employer. 

“We are deeply committed to incorporating the new employees of these contracts into our company as seamlessly as possible,” Carlson said. “We also think we have a great solution here, combining these great employees with local management.

“We think it is going to provide the optimal solution for Zones 4 and 5.”

MarBorg Industries President Brian Borgatello directly addresses Waste Management employees in the crowd at Tuesday's Board of Supervisors meeting. “(I) give you my word as president of the company, we got your back, we will not leave you guys hanging dry, and I believe we have a very good compensation package that will match what you have now, and we look forward to meeting you guys in your future," he said.
MarBorg Industries President Brian Borgatello directly addresses Waste Management employees in the crowd at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting. “(I) give you my word as president of the company, we got your back, we will not leave you guys hanging dry, and I believe we have a very good compensation package that will match what you have now, and we look forward to meeting you guys in your future,” he said. (Giana Magnoli / Noozhawk photo)

MarBorg offered a 5.3% lower operating rate than what WM currently offers. 

EJ Harrison and Sons offered the second lowest rate at 3.5% lower than the current rate, while WM offered to lower their rate by 2.4%.

(Santa Barbara County photo)

“It came down to the rates,” Fourth District Supervisor Bob Nelson said before voting. “I was disappointed that Waste Management wasn’t in the top two, I really was.

“My job up here as a taxpayer advocate is to make sure that we have the best rate with a responsible provider, and MarBorg is absolutely a responsible provider,” Nelson said.  

First District Supervisor Das Williams said he didn’t feel listened to by Waste Management in their proposal. He also said he is confident that Marborg will be a good employer for service in the North County zones.

“I’m confident that they’re a good employer, and I think that is evidenced by the longevity of the people at MarBorg,” Williams said. “I’m confident in that leadership.”

All five supervisors voted to award the 10-year solid waste hauling contract for North County zones to MarBorg on Tuesday including Steve Lavagnino and Bob Nelson, who represent North County districts. (Giana Magnoli / Noozhawk photo)
All five supervisors voted to award the 10-year solid waste hauling contract for North County zones to MarBorg on Tuesday including Steve Lavagnino and Bob Nelson, who represent North County districts. (Giana Magnoli / Noozhawk photo)

Leslie Robinson of the Resource Recovery & Waste Management Division said the county negotiated with Waste Management and reached verbal agreement in December 2021 on new rates and a contract, “and then surprisingly to many of us, in January WM said they had not received approval to move forward from a corporate level.”

The county did a 2-year extension to the contract ending in 2022, and then started a request-for-proposals process for a contract starting in 2024.

“It put us in a tight spot honestly,” Robinson told the supervisors Tuesday.

The rates WM asked for were much higher than current rates, and when the county could not negotiate reduced rates, it started the RFP process, she said.

— Noozhawk staff writer Rebecca Caraway can be reached at rcaraway@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.