Submitted by City of Los Alamitos
On Friday, July 1, 2011, Judge Banks of the Orange County Superior Court dismissed another claim in the case against the City of Los Alamitos filed by Art DeBolt and J.M. Ivler — calling themselves “Citizens for a Fair Trash Contract” – last November. When filed during last year’s election, the case involved three claims against the City, their political opponents on the City Council, and the trash company that the Citizens group held responsible for the loss of the 2008 City Council elections.
This political gamble by Mr. Debolt and Mr. Ivler to file this lawsuit in order to affect the last election may not be working out as planned. They have now lost two of the three claims filed including the first claim alleging corruption and financial self-dealing that was dismissed in May that was meant to soil their political opponents of Edgar, Poe, and Stephens.
On Friday the judge also dismissed the claim for declaratory relief that was an apparent retaliatory action against Consolidated Disposal Company (CDS) to force the City to cancel their new trash contract. The court found that this was not a meaningful claim and questioned the standing of this Citizen’s group.
What remains now is a single claim against the City regarding the legal interpretation of the procedural provisions of the City’s municipal code regarding the award of waste franchises. The City is looking forward to the closure of this frivolous lawsuit and will continue working to provide further evidence and testimony to the court over the next three months. No ruling on the remaining claim is expected until at least September.
“It is a shame the amount of time and resources that has been expended by the City and staff on this lawsuit. I am looking forward to ending this matter in September,” Mayor Stephens stated after the hearing. “With our new monthly base residential rates under twelve dollars a month since January, Los Alamitos has been the envy of most cities across Orange County. I know our residents value the savings during these tough financial times and don’t appreciate this group playing political games with the taxpayer’s money, “added Mayor Stephens.
The city’s waste-hauling franchise agreement with CDS, which took effect on January 1 after more than a year-long public bidding and negotiation process, will continue as approved by the City Council. The new agreement resulted in an unprecedented 19% reduction in residential and 6% reduction in commercial waste collection rates. The City also negotiated $275,000 in annual guaranteed general fund revenue and nearly $300,000 in one-time monies. CDS will also continue to provide street sweeping services at no additional charge for the duration of the agreement.
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