News -> INDReporter THU, MAY 5 10:31AM by Walter Pierce

Durel’s “sucker tax” hits YouTube

A 6.5-minute video attacking Lafayette Consolidated Government’s solid waste collection contract with Allied Waste — and specifically targeting City-Parish President Joey Durel — was posted Wednesday to YouTube by an anonymous grievance-bearer known only as 11RikCube.

The video decries what it characterizes as Durel’s “sucker tax” for residents in the city of Lafayette: $5.61, which is how much more city of Lafayette residents pay for once-per-week Allied pick-up than residents in Broussard, who get twice-per-week pick-up through Waste Management.

In a description of the video, 11RikCube writes:

54,000 Lafayette households have been paying the Lafayette Sucker Tax since April 2009, when LCG’s new contract with Allied Waste went into effect. City-Parish President Joey Durel negotiated this deal that has resulted in millions of dollars going to Allied Waste that are wasted dollars. How do we know this? Because the City of Broussard went to competitive bid on their contract and have lower rates and better service than Lafayette does.

 


Walter Pierce
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written by Actually... , May 05, 2011 - 10:42 am
Broussard does not get the same services that Lafayette gets. We must call for yard waste and white goods to be picked up. Many of us wish we had the same contract as Lafayette and Carencro. Our mayor probably is getting a commission on our contract.
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written by I'm a nut... , May 05, 2011 - 11:51 am
Sounds like the fellow that is on KPEL on Wednesdays. Last name might be Skagg? From listening to his views, I now believe this to be a very good contract negotiated by Mr. Durel and approved by our council.
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written by LAFAYETTE NATIVE RESIDING IN CA , May 05, 2011 - 12:04 pm
Here we go again. Don't tax the rich, give them more tax dollars. That's good, I'm glad he is screwing you clowns.

r.c., I'm sure you're glad to pay this tax, especially since you don't believe in taxing the rich.

Boy! Oh, boy, when the peasants rise up.

!!SMART POWER ROCKS!!
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written by Unempirical Observer , May 05, 2011 - 12:42 pm
Wouldn't mind never having to see those blue bins again, those things are horrid, unwieldy, don't close tightly, the lids warp, and yes if you live in da' parish, there is no recycling, even in the subdivisions where it would make sense. What's the point of educating our kids to take care of the world if we don't make it possible?

One thing this video producer (who has a familiar voice that's going to eat at me for a while, notice how he pronounces his words, "broussard" "laaaafeeyet" and "Paaaarish") is that the producer assumes the $22.61 is the price of Garbage pickup (leaving out the fact that this also covers weekly organic yard waste pickup and white goods). He is forgetting that we pay a fee on our garbage bills through LUS which is included in this total. Or if you're unincorporated, look right there on your Allied Waste quarterly invoice: you will find a LCG environmental fee charged which I believe funds operations of our local Environmental Quality division and allows for us to meet local compliance with federal mandates (not sure but maybe y'all intrepid readers can do the research.)

So really, the rates aren't that far apart maybe 2 to 3 instead of 5-6, and if it's true that Broussard, Youngsville, Carencro, Scott aren't paying for the environmental upkeep of our Parish, then that's a problem.

As for scapegoating the recycling foundation, that's not really cool either. They've been performing a great work since we started the first recycling program in the state back in the 80's to address the imminent problem of a court ordered landfill closure. Recycling saved us lots of money and still does. There is no doubt that WM including recycling in a smaller town is not the same as serving a larger area. Economies of scale don't seem to reduce prices, bigger cities usually will end up paying more than smaller ones.

Really what we need to do is centralize payment of trash-recycling service like other places and apply some management practices to reduce our still too high garbage production rate to get the volume and the costs down to a minimum and to spread the cost of household refuse collection around on a more progressive scale than one house one bill. I've always felt slighted while being a college student keeping up a small duplex apartment, that I had to pay the same amount as a family in a McMansion on the River. There was no justice in that arrangement.
We should shift to a clear bag mandate and weigh and/or penalize those that don't recycle, they're adding to the problem greatly by refusing their responsibility to do their part.
Also we need to have either kitchen compost pickup or something to jump start backyard composting.
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written by Not So Fast... , May 05, 2011 - 12:43 pm
I believe $7.79 per month per household is incorrect. Because Broussard receives different services, the services must be equalized in order to gain an accurate picture.

Calculate per service: (taken as an average - 4 weeks per month)
4 pickups, Lafayette - $5.65/pickup
8 pickups, Broussard - $2.13/pickup
Difference - $3.52 per pickup

That makes the base difference between Lafayette and Broussard, per month, $14.08 (per pickup difference multiplied by the number of pickups)

Add recycling and the difference becomes $16.26 for the 37,000 households inside the city of Lafayette.

All 37,000 multiplied by the difference becomes $601,620 per month, not $288,230

The 17,000 households outside the city come in at $276,420 per month, not $95,370

That makes the grand total per month $878,040 instead of $383,600

Over the life of this contract, the total runs up to $22,829,040 - more than double the calculated $9,973,600

As for yard waste and white goods, as far as I know Lafayette must also call for pickup, and even then those items will only be picked up on a predetermined week based on your address, not immediately.


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written by POLITICAL OBSERVER , May 05, 2011 - 01:02 pm
Broussard gets twice weekly pickup; Lafayette gets once a week pickup. One is not better than two under any analysis. Interesting that Durel had made a promise to supporter during his first campaign, that when the garbage contract came up, that the bid process would be used. When the time came, Durel simply indicated that he had changed his mind. These are facts, not opinions.
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written by ragin_cajun , May 05, 2011 - 01:14 pm
Actually--

In Lafayette, we wait for yard waste to be picked up, it's like every 3 weeks. We have to call for pick up of anything that won't fit in the can. So I think Zlafayette and Broussard have the same service-/except that broussards come twice as often for less money. So explain to me why Broussard residents long for Lafayette trash pickup? I'm looking at buying a house in Broussard.
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written by Parish Pal , May 05, 2011 - 01:34 pm
I live in Broussard! When I hear and see this kind of TRASH--- I wish I lived in Lafayette! If you can't be proud enough of your production to put your name on it-- IT CERTAINLY BELONGS IN THE TRASH!@!!!!!!! EVERY PUN INTENDED!
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written by tlsosu1962 , May 05, 2011 - 01:47 pm
Calculate per service: (taken as an average - 4 weeks per month)
4 pickups, Lafayette - $5.65/pickup
8 pickups, Broussard - $2.13/pickup
Difference - $3.52 per pickup

DUH! - remember all the services you get in Lafayette. The Allied Waste guys pass by our homes 10 times per month for various pick ups - Now calculate your difference and leave out the $2.64 environmental fee and do not count the recycling fee because the garbage company does not perform that service; it is done by the recycle foundation or something like that. So the real rate per service is $1.997 or $19.97 / 10 pick ups = 1.997. If you want to add back in the recycling, it's even less per service...............

So..........Nice Job Mr. Durel, Thanks for looking out for us!
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written by Future Senator , May 05, 2011 - 02:37 pm
Joey Durel is not looking out for the best ways to make Lafayette a better place. It's not fair that he didn't put it up for bid. This video is awesome because we need to hold him accountable for what's going on. It's not fair that we pay more and get less at the end of the day.
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written by Not So Fast... , May 05, 2011 - 02:54 pm
I still don't see "all the services you get in Lafayette" that commenters continuously make reference to.

What services?

Is being charged $90 for an extra can if one is not enough (or your can gets stolen or damaged, usually by the trash truck itself) a service?

Is having trash dropped in the middle of the street and left to rot (and being told to pick it up yourself if you call Allied about trash left behind) a service?

Is calling for yard waste/white goods pickup and not having the truck come for three months (again, call Allied and you're told to haul it yourself) a service?

Is having *no* trash pickup on weeks with a holiday (as opposed to a day or so late) a service?

If so, yeah, Lafayette is rolling in services!

As it stands, "service" in Lafayette is akin to something you'd pay for on Four Corners and far less productive.

P.S. tlsosu1962: Where are you getting 10 pickups per month? The trash runs once a week (if that), and on average there are only four weeks in a month. We're not talking about the theoretical pickups that *should* happen, we're talking about the ones that actually *do* happen.
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written by LAFAYETTE NATIVE RESIDING IN CA , May 05, 2011 - 03:45 pm
The civil service was created to keep politicians from doling out jobs to their kronies. The bidding out for contractual services to be paid using public monies is to obtain the best value for the taxpayer.

Durel did not do that, and, because he did not use the bidding process, there will always be an element of suspicion.

All,

Please don't forget to watch the fox clown show republican debate tonight at 6pm eastern time on the fox fake news channel.

!!SMART POWER ROCKS
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written by Docy B , May 05, 2011 - 03:56 pm
Remember what LNRIC said. Capatalism is for the poor and Socialism is for the rich.

This is a good example of this truism. Here you have an official who conveiently bypasses the free market and instead elects to give this big company the taxpayer's money. This is a perfect example of socialism.

In the immortal words of LNRIC, I bid you a, Smart Power Rocks.
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written by ragin_cajun , May 05, 2011 - 04:36 pm
Okay tlsosu --

so allied waste comes by the house 10 times a month. the cost is still more than twice as much for the SAME garbage pickup.

whether I have to put the garbage in a blue can, or brown can, the fact that it gets recycled, none of that matters.

Lafayette garbage costs A LOT more than Broussard garbage collection. If I go along with your contention that garbage collection in both places is equally as often, it's still more expensive in Lafayette than in Broussard.

Is that not perfectly logical? This is a very simple matter, we should all be able to agree on these facts.
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written by LAFAYETTE NATIVE RESIDING IN CA , May 05, 2011 - 04:50 pm
Thank you, Docy B. Try as I might, I cannot get r.c. to back off of that nonsensical political philosophy of his which is that no tax increase for the rich will create a zillion jobs.

!!SMART POWER ROCKS!!
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written by NORTHSIDIAN SHOTGUN , May 05, 2011 - 05:07 pm
"REMEMBER THIS VOTERS JOEY, fattens the pocket of thise that feed him, the Greenambulance the oneeyed unlevel festermaker surveyor and the frail-anorexic yellow pages attorney, aqnd this is why you pay more laf. couillions, A LA KENNY BOWEN, under the table negotiation, Joey is the master of deception, Mr. Sticky Fingers, you can run joey but you can't hide.
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written by Compassionate One , May 05, 2011 - 06:21 pm
The video misses the fact that Allied Waste send Joey Durel and Bruce Conque $$$$ during the last election.

Bertrand was carrying the administration line that putting it out to bid would cost more money.

Memory tells me that Keith Patin and William Theriot were the only two on the council that opposed this.
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written by Southsider , May 05, 2011 - 07:33 pm
In Lafayette, we wait for yard waste to be picked up, it's like every 3 weeks. We have to call for pick up of anything that won't fit in the can

I don't where you live IN lafayette, but my yard waste is picked up every Monday, along with Recycled and Big Blue can. White goods are picked up when you schedule it to be picked up.
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written by LAFAYETTE NATIVE RESIDING IN CA , May 05, 2011 - 07:49 pm
written by Compassionate One , May 05, 2011
Bertrand was carrying the administration line that putting it out to bid would cost more money.

That is a bald face lie by asserting that putting out contracts for bid costs more money.

Having worked on contracts, the most cost efficient and prudent way to get vendors at the table is to have them compete against one another.

!!SMART POWER ROCKS!!
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written by NORTHSIDIAN SHOTGUN , May 06, 2011 - 01:40 am
No S____, Sherlock. Since Durel did not get his fortune by being above board, but rather by being the puppet who has his strings pulled by the Greenambulance man Zuschlag, and you know who the other manipulators are, but this is the norm, every politician gives it up for a buck.

"JUST remember this come election, Joey will run again, the pie has'nt been fully scraped from the tin !
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written by BoFred , May 06, 2011 - 04:34 am
LACK OF INTEGRITY & DISREGARD FOR THE CITIZENS. What are these people in politics for? Maybe Langlinais should run for Parish President? For the past few yrs I've felt trash pick up was expensive & I really hate that it goes up every year, no matter what. I thought it was in the contract. To hear the mayor could have negotiated a lower rate or to maintain the same rate for two yrs is disturbing. I have to say I'm disappointed again in local govt for lacking the integrity to provide citizens the best services at the lowest rates. Is anyone out there looking at these things. This info, when one remmebers the TIF deals, adds to the appearance that this administration is only concerned with feathering thier own nests or the nests of their contributing friends and the rest of us birds out here are losing our nests.
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written by ragin_cajun , May 06, 2011 - 08:30 am
"Having worked on contracts, the most cost efficient and prudent way to get vendors at the table is to have them compete against one another."

Alright, who is posting as Native? Because to see him and Docy in favor of free markets and competition is completely inconsistent with their past statements.

I am stunned that Native has said something I agree with.

Also, Native. I do not oppose high taxes because I'm a supply sider. Although cutting taxes does stimumlate the economy when taxes are high, I don't think it works all the time under any conditions. Art Laffer probably doesn't either.

I oppose high taxes because they are morally wrong. People have the right to their property, and high taxes and government welfare spending are an assault on the earners' property rights.


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written by Lafayette Actually , May 06, 2011 - 09:43 am
Allied Waste is not doing ANYONE any favors in Lafayette, at all. Once a week pick up and the driver's are picky about if they even stop at your house to pick up your trash. If your lid is even slightly open, forget it. Got wood, furniture, or other materials? You have to either call to get it picked up or you have to chop it up to fit IN the can or they won't even look at it.
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written by LAFAYETTE NATIVE RESIDING IN CA , May 06, 2011 - 09:54 am
written by ragin_cajun , May 06, 2011
I oppose high taxes because they are morally wrong.

Art Laffer, is laughable. I cringe when I hear people talking about how raising taxes is a moral issue. This is foolish. This is the most self serving, self centered crap that is designed to appeal to the low information voters amongst us.

It is immoral to balance the budget on the backs of the middle class and the poor. It is immoral to let people who earn 250k and above to escape their contribution under the guise of trikle down economics. Indeed, it is simply unpatriotic.

r.c., how is that 3am phone call working for ya.

We finally got a real Commander in Chief.

!!SMART POWER ROCKS!!
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written by ANDY HEBERT , May 07, 2011 - 09:35 pm
“Logan said that cost is part of Allied's rate, which allows residents in LCG's jurisdiction to "obtain compost at no additional cost to them."
Logan provided The Daily Advertiser with a break down of fees paid by residents of Lafayette city and by those who live in the unincorporated portions of the parish.”
“paid by residents of Lafayette city and by those who live in the unincorporated portions of the parish. …residents in LCG's jurisdiction…”
FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS:
FEDERAL GOVERNEMENT: Does the United States allow residents living outside it’s jurisdiction to negotiate its contracts? NO
Can residents living outside the jurisdiction of the United States run for and vote for its leaders? NO
STATE GOVERNMENT: Does the State of Louisiana allow residents living outside it’s jurisdiction to negotiate its contracts? NO
Can residents living outside the jurisdiction of the State of Louisiana run for and vote for its leaders? NO
PARISH GOVERNMENT: Does the Parish of Lafayette allow residents living outside it’s jurisdiction to negotiate its contracts? NO
Can residents living outside the jurisdiction of the Parish of Lafayette run for and vote for its leaders? NO
CITY GOVERNMENT: Does the City of Lafayette allow residents living outside it’s jurisdiction to negotiate its contracts? YES
Can residents living outside the jurisdiction of the City of Lafayette run for and vote for its leaders? YES
How come the City of Lafayette is the only level of government that allows non-jurisdictional people to participate?
Now that’s the real report needed.

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written by NORTHSIDIAN SHOTGUN , May 08, 2011 - 08:14 pm
written by actually, you lost your bid for Broussard mayor, so be a good loser and SU, you couillion the people voted.
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written by wow , May 09, 2011 - 09:19 am
I am very much a republican and voted for Mr. Durel and don't really like what Mr. Stagg usually has to say, but after reading what Mr. Logan said on the Advertiser's website. I can't help but think its time for a new Mayor. I hope we have a coice.
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written by C R P , May 09, 2011 - 05:17 pm
Durel has had it too cushy for too long.
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