Fort Worth City Council voted to eliminate a requirement that Waste Management hire minority- and women-owned businesses for its $479 million trash contract.
The move, which council approved 9-2 during its May 14 meeting, comes after a months-long surge in missed trash collections. Council members Chris Nettles and Jared Williams voted against the change, citing concerns about the precedent the vote sets for other city contracts that have minority business requirements.
“This is an important vote, but this is bigger than just this vote,” Williams said. “It’s about where we want to invest our money, and I want to invest in small businesses and in Fort Worth businesses. I’m concerned about the precedent we’re setting by removing (minority business) requirements off of any contract, whether it’s this contract or the next one.”
The contract amendment allows Waste Management and the city to reduce or eliminate the number of households served by the Fort Worth-based Knight Waste Services, which is Black-owned. When the contract with Knight Waste Services started, the city collected trash from about 142,000 homes. Because of the city’s growth, that number has now surpassed 256,000, Steve Keller, public sector manager for Waste Management, said at the meeting.
Knight Waste Services has served as the exclusive minority vendor for Waste Management for more than 20 years. The business is run by brothers, Marcus E. Knight and Richard L. Knight, who took over the company from their late father, former Dallas city manager and businessman Richard Knight Jr. The brothers declined to comment to the Report after the vote.
Waste Management proposed removing the business minority requirement, according to the council agenda item. The company was previously required to subcontract with a minimum of 25% minority-owned businesses.
Waste Management and its contractors make about 1.1 million service attempts each month, according to city data. Between October and March, the city recorded about 1,600 missed collections per month.
Environmental services director Cody Whittenburg said May 7 that in order to meet industry standards, Waste Management should not exceed 1,100 missed collections per month.
When reports of missed trash pickups increased last year, the city gave Waste Management a six-month waiver that reduced the 25% requirement. That waiver, which expired May 8, allowed Waste Management to take over trash routes from Knight Waste Services, in an attempt to provide more consistent services.
Whittenburg previously said the city had not ruled out extending the waiver, but Williams’ attempt to revisit that topic at the May 14 meeting was not supported by other council members.
Nettles and Williams attempted to table the agenda item until a June 11 meeting, but their motion was voted down by other members. They both expressed concern over removing diversity requirements and said the move could send a negative message to small and minority businesses.
Williams said the vote wasn’t just about the Waste Management contract but also about whether the city is willing to address a “longstanding issue” of investments that don’t reflect the city’s diversity. He said less than 5% of the nearly $500 million invested in city contracts goes to Black-owned businesses and less than 20% goes to Latino businesses.
“We’re not hitting our goals, and I don’t know who’s to be held accountable for that, but it’s a sad state that we’re in when we can’t hit our (minority business) goals,” Williams said.
Council member Charlie Lauersdorf, who has been a vocal proponent of removing the minority requirement in order to improve trash collection, said he supported the change because Waste Management and Knight Waste Services had been given “enough time” to rectify trash pickup issues, without improvements.
“What we need to remember is that what’s on the side of our trash cans is not Knight Waste Services, it’s not Waste Management — it’s the city of Fort Worth, and therefore it is on us to fix this,” Lauersdorf said. “Our residents don’t care what’s on the side of the trash can. They just want the basic service.”
Council member Gyna Bivens said she wants minority-owned businesses in Fort Worth to be successful. She chose to vote in favor of eliminating the minority business requirement, saying “the decision has to be made based on business.”
She said Knight Waste Services is the only minority-owned waste collection company in the state. Because the company is not able to complete 25% of Waste Management’s contract, there aren’t other local contractors available, she said.
“This does not feel good, but I know the reality of it is that looking for 25% in this area and in this state, you’re not going to find it,” Bivens said.
Keller, the Waste Management representative, said the company is potentially open to still contracting with Knight Waste Services, but with a lower percentage of work.
Nettles and Williams supported lowering the required percentage of the contract Knight Waste Services was expected to complete, but other members said council could revisit that topic in the future.
“To completely overhaul (this requirement) and move it out of the contract gives me complete heartburn when we can get to a better percentage,” Nettles said.
Addressing the Knights, who were in attendance at the May 14 meeting, Mayor Mattie Parker said she “appreciates” their partnership with the city of Fort Worth and Waste Management.
“We’re in this position because we haven’t fulfilled a promise to residents, which is once weekly reliable pickup of their trash,” Parker said. “If there’s one thing we’ve all learned, (it’s) when you mess with people’s trash, it’s the first thing they’re going to complain about.”
Cecilia Lenzen is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at cecilia.lenzen@fortworthreport.org or @bycecilialenzen.
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