The Town’s decision to award their garbage contract to Competitive Carting was what started a six month period of horrible service for 10,000 Yorktown homes last year
The state Supreme Court has ruled that Yorktown officials acted legally in 2022 when they voted on an annual garbage contract. Justice Robert J. Prisco decided that the petitioner, AAA Carting and Rubbish Removal, Inc., failed to demonstrate that the Town Board’s award of a garbage contract to Competitive Carting was improper.
“We issued four rounds of requests for bids in 2022 as part of our efforts to keep garbage collection affordable for the people of Yorktown,” said Deputy Supervisor Ed Lachterman, who was one of the defendants in the lawsuit because he served on the Town Board at the time. “This litigation was always about a disgruntled businessman who didn’t get his contract renewed. It was never about the Town Board’s process, and I’m happy that the Supreme Court agrees.”
Both companies submitted bids in late 2022 for garbage removal. The Town Board voted to give a five-year contract to Competitive Carting, which at the time was the lowest responsible bidder. AAA—Yorktown’s garbage hauler from 2018 to 2022—filed a petition with the court seeking to annul the Town Board’s decision. AAA’s court papers argued that Competitive Carting was not the lowest bidder and that the Town Board abused their discretion and violated Town Law, among other allegations.
When the Town Board began the garbage bidding process in early 2022, the first bid would have doubled the garbage contract from $2,000,000 to $4,000,000. The Town Board rejected this bid and received more proposals that included reducing garbage pickup to once a week.
Throughout the bidding process, the goal was for homeowners to continue to have twice weekly pick up. Competitive Carting’s proposal came in $600,000 lower than bids from previous rounds that would have reduced garbage pickups to once a week.
Once awarded the contract, Competitive Carting failed to fulfill its obligations. The Town Board cancelled Competitive Carting’s contract after a repossession of the company’s trucks left uncollected garbage on Yorktown’s streets. In September, the Town Board awarded a new contract to CRP Carting
What cannot be forgotten is the disaster that was a six month period of time where the Town’s original new garbage contractor, Competitive Carting, failed miserably is collecting the garbage and recycling for Yorktown’s 10,000 homes.
In a request for a comment, AAA wrote, “We don’t agree with the courts finding. We will file a motion to appeal. We think the fact that Competitive Carting defaulted is proof enough that the court was incorrect.
We still have one lawsuit pending which we still hope the court rules in our favor.”
