In my first post about this situation I mentioned the agreement that the city entered into with the sub contractor for Waste Management. As a point of reference you can view it by clicking here.
There is something very important missing in the agreement. There is no way for the city to opt out, even in an emergency or for cause. Usually agreements like this have such a clause, especially to opt out "for cause".
Who drafted this? Was it the assistant city manager who notified a member of the council that she had authorized this action? Was it the city attorney?
Here is my problem. We all make mistakes. Nobody is perfect. But for some reason we have some folks who say that our staff (especially senior members) are world class. We have a very good city staff. And most of the time they function very well. The problem is, and it starts at the top (City Manager Nolan Sunderman), there is a culture of an unwillingness to admit to mistakes. It is for this reason that I have not asked him directly about this trash container debacle. Previous experience has shown that he tap dances around questions, seldom provides direct answers, and refuses to acknowledge mistakes.
The lack of an opt out clause in the agreement is, IMHO, one such mistake. Actually, the entire situation is one big mistake. If Sunderman does not take full responsibility for this debacle, then IMHO he needs to go. The sign of a true leader is to take responsibility, especially when things go wrong. He is not a leader.
