KTRK-13 reported on Wednesday that City Council granted a one-year contract extension to a waste-disposal company that overbilled the city:
A garbage collection company that overbilled Houston taxpayers will continue picking up your trash.
On Wednesday, the Houston city council granted Republic Waste a one year contract extension. Our 13 Undercover team found that Republic charged the $2 million for hauling trash that didn’t belong to Houston residents. Mayor White pointed out that Republic paid back the money and fired employees.
White says it’s cheaper to renew the contract instead of taking bids for a new garbage contract.
Today’s Chronicle coverage, which surprisingly credits KTRK for breaking the original story, goes into further detail:
Republic agreed in February to a $2 million settlement with the city, as well as a $140,000 reimbursement for the audit, which was completed last week.
A second phase of the audit by Controller Annise Parker will examine other aspects of city trash collection.
The first phase confirmed that Republic, which picks up trash for 86,000 households in Houston, charged the city for collecting and disposing of tons of garbage from other cities. The company has more than $50 million in city contracts.
A separate investigation linked the wrongdoing to several company employees and showed that top officials played no part in the scheme.
Will Flower, a spokesman for Republic, said Wednesday’s council vote shows the city has confidence in his company.
Councilwomen Addie Wiseman and Shelley Sekula-Gibbs voted against the contract. Wiseman said the company misused taxpayer dollars and violated the public’s trust.
The vote was 12-2. Councilman Ronald Green was absent.
Is this an example of “running the city like a business,” as Mayor White likes to put it?
