The City had been using an outside contractor for the disposal of its rubbish At the time of the appointment of the Receiver, the annual cost of rubbish disposal approximated $350,000, or $29,000 per month. Regular bidding of this contract had not been performed and the contractor's fees were suspected to be in excess of the market.
In March 1987, the Receiver notified the rubbish contractor that its contract with the City was not binding because the City did not publicly solicit bids prior to entering the agreement. Negotiations between the contractor and the Receiver ensued which resulted in concessions from the rubbish contractor. The revised agreement called for fees of $25,000 per month for the period from April, 1987 through August, 1989, and $20,000 thereafter through August, 1989.
At the conclusion of the revised agreement, the Receiver requested quotations from four contractors. The revised monthly charge for rubbish pick-up was $13,440 beginning September 1, 1989.
In 1986 and prior, the City operated a boat ramp using its employees at a net estimated annual cost to the City of $25,000. The Receiver terminated the personnel assigned to the boat ramp and leased the boat ramp to a private company, for net revenues of approximately $25,000. The net overall gain of privatizing the boat ramp approximated $50,000 annually.
At the inception of the Receivership, all retainers paid for professional services were eliminated, including those paid to attorneys, auditors, and the City's engineering firm. The Receiver chose to obtain professional services on an "as-needed" basis. The approximate monthly retainer paid to the engineering firm prior to the Receivership was $1,200. The cost of engineering services previously centralized in the City's accounting system was allocated to various cost centers when engineering services were purchased.
At the inception of the Receivership, the City's insurance carrier had threatened to terminate its coverage unless the City took specific actions to reduce risks. One of the actions requested was to replace or remove the City's park equipment. As the City was unable to acquire new equipment, the Receiver ordered it removed.
Concurrent with the equipment removal, the Parks and Recreation Department and much of the related maintenance were eliminated.