Hi All,
There were two good articles in the Pioneer Press today about this vote.
https://www.twincities.com/2019/10/05/soucheray-st-paul-residents-are-being-misled-about-trash-collection-vote/
https://www.twincities.com/2019/10/05/st-pauls-trash-contract-has-an-acts-of-god-clause-would-a-ballot-defeat-count/
I found Joe Soucheray's description of the issue very compelling and right on
the money!
Joe said, "The mayor of St. Paul, Melvin Carter, is threatening the city’s
taxpayers with a 22 percent property tax levy in the event a November ballot
referendum ends the city’s involvement with trash hauling. He thinks he’ll need
the money to pay the haulers."
"Don’t fall for it."
"The contract is invalid and the mayor’s threat that the city will need the
money collected by the levy is simply not true."
Joe and also Fred Melo cite the following contract language that is in the
contract:
13.6 Force Majeure
The city, the Consortium and the Consortium members shall not be held
responsible for performance if its performance is prevented by acts or events
beyond the party’s reasonable control, including, but not limited to: severe
weather and storms, earthquake or other natural occurrences, strikes and other
labor unrest, power failures, electrical power surges or current fluctuations,
nuclear or other civil military emergencies, or legislative, judicial or
executive acts (each of the forgoing, a “Force Majeure Event”). The time period
for the performance in question shall be extended for only the actual amount of
time said party is so delayed.
Joe's rational is, "You’re off the hook, Mayor. How could you not know this?
This is your get-out-of-jail-free card. This takes the city out from under the
deal. There already has been judicial action to constitute Force Majeure, the
ruling by Ramsey County District Judge Leonardo Castro last May that the issue
should have been on the ballot in the first place. He put the measure on hold.
That’s judicial action."
"Patty Hartmann, a lawyer running for the Ward 3 council seat and whose
election would fall under the rubric of a welcome return to common sense, if
not an outright miracle, has written on her campaign’s website that “if the
majority of the voters in the November 5 election vote ‘NO’ — opting to get rid
of the city’s mandatory trash plan — there will be NO enforceable obligation
for the city to pay the haulers any money for unpaid trash invoices.”
This Organized Trash Collection (OTC) contract was signed before the ordinance
was voted on in the first place. I believe Judge Castro is 100% in his various
rulings on this matter. The contract can be voided and for Mayor Carter to
continue to say otherwise is not being honest to the public on the matter!
Mayor Carter is lying to us! From past statements from Mayor Carter, he plans
to keep OTC collection even if the voters vote "NO," saying that the contract
trumps the people's vote and that the taxpayers are on the hook due to the poor
contract that the City of St. Paul put together before there was any vote by
the city council for OTC.
What concerns me about this whole mess is our elected officials cobbled this
together socialist style of trash collection in such a manner that it put the
City of St. Paul at such a great risk, all for what? Our capitalist trash
system wasn't broken before. We had great service before OTC, as there was
competition between haulers and now the haulers know that they have the upper
hand and thus no incentive to provide us with top service. Also there is no
clause for neighbors to combine service. I am paying more now for less and
poorer service and poorer service. The other unaddressed issue is the cost of
city staff to be the collect payment for the trash haulers.
There has been talk of the City of St. Paul going further and taking over alley
plowing, well seeing how badly our elected leaders handled the trash collection
issue and their blind eye to our current public safety crisis facing our city,
I feel that taking over alley plowing is just another fiasco waiting to happen
for the City of St. Paul!
Vote "NO" this November, and tell the City of St. Paul we do not want Organized
Trash Collection. We want our perfectly good trash collection system back that
was working just fine before our elected leaders decided to put their nose in
and ruined a good system!
John Krenik
St. Paul, MN
"Not willing to let our city be taken over by thugs and gang members!"
There were two good articles in the Pioneer Press today about this vote.
https://www.twincities.com/2019/10/05/soucheray-st-paul-residents-are-being-misled-about-trash-collection-vote/
https://www.twincities.com/2019/10/05/st-pauls-trash-contract-has-an-acts-of-god-clause-would-a-ballot-defeat-count/
I found Joe Soucheray's description of the issue very compelling and right on
the money!
Joe said, "The mayor of St. Paul, Melvin Carter, is threatening the city’s
taxpayers with a 22 percent property tax levy in the event a November ballot
referendum ends the city’s involvement with trash hauling. He thinks he’ll need
the money to pay the haulers."
"Don’t fall for it."
"The contract is invalid and the mayor’s threat that the city will need the
money collected by the levy is simply not true."
Joe and also Fred Melo cite the following contract language that is in the
contract:
13.6 Force Majeure
The city, the Consortium and the Consortium members shall not be held
responsible for performance if its performance is prevented by acts or events
beyond the party’s reasonable control, including, but not limited to: severe
weather and storms, earthquake or other natural occurrences, strikes and other
labor unrest, power failures, electrical power surges or current fluctuations,
nuclear or other civil military emergencies, or legislative, judicial or
executive acts (each of the forgoing, a “Force Majeure Event”). The time period
for the performance in question shall be extended for only the actual amount of
time said party is so delayed.
Joe's rational is, "You’re off the hook, Mayor. How could you not know this?
This is your get-out-of-jail-free card. This takes the city out from under the
deal. There already has been judicial action to constitute Force Majeure, the
ruling by Ramsey County District Judge Leonardo Castro last May that the issue
should have been on the ballot in the first place. He put the measure on hold.
That’s judicial action."
"Patty Hartmann, a lawyer running for the Ward 3 council seat and whose
election would fall under the rubric of a welcome return to common sense, if
not an outright miracle, has written on her campaign’s website that “if the
majority of the voters in the November 5 election vote ‘NO’ — opting to get rid
of the city’s mandatory trash plan — there will be NO enforceable obligation
for the city to pay the haulers any money for unpaid trash invoices.”
This Organized Trash Collection (OTC) contract was signed before the ordinance
was voted on in the first place. I believe Judge Castro is 100% in his various
rulings on this matter. The contract can be voided and for Mayor Carter to
continue to say otherwise is not being honest to the public on the matter!
Mayor Carter is lying to us! From past statements from Mayor Carter, he plans
to keep OTC collection even if the voters vote "NO," saying that the contract
trumps the people's vote and that the taxpayers are on the hook due to the poor
contract that the City of St. Paul put together before there was any vote by
the city council for OTC.
What concerns me about this whole mess is our elected officials cobbled this
together socialist style of trash collection in such a manner that it put the
City of St. Paul at such a great risk, all for what? Our capitalist trash
system wasn't broken before. We had great service before OTC, as there was
competition between haulers and now the haulers know that they have the upper
hand and thus no incentive to provide us with top service. Also there is no
clause for neighbors to combine service. I am paying more now for less and
poorer service and poorer service. The other unaddressed issue is the cost of
city staff to be the collect payment for the trash haulers.
There has been talk of the City of St. Paul going further and taking over alley
plowing, well seeing how badly our elected leaders handled the trash collection
issue and their blind eye to our current public safety crisis facing our city,
I feel that taking over alley plowing is just another fiasco waiting to happen
for the City of St. Paul!
Vote "NO" this November, and tell the City of St. Paul we do not want Organized
Trash Collection. We want our perfectly good trash collection system back that
was working just fine before our elected leaders decided to put their nose in
and ruined a good system!
John Krenik
St. Paul, MN
"Not willing to let our city be taken over by thugs and gang members!"
