In May 1990, a city commission voted to put Traverse City out of the waste business. Today, Traverse City has an open market for trash pickup. Although West Michigan Disposal remains one of the major waste contractors in the city, six firms compete for the residents' rubbish. As cities have become more sophisticated partners in privatization, many have moved away from a single-tier bidding process that simply selects the lowest bidder. Instead, cities are increasingly using a two-tier process.
Cities first assess the technical qualifications of potential bidders.
Successful competitive contracting for waste services also requires provisions to ensure that specified performance levels are maintained. Procurement documents need to spell out reporting requirements, performance standards, and guarantees against non-performance. Length of Contract. On the one hand, it is argued that contracts should be short in order to increase the opportunity for competition. Others, however, assert that short-term contracts reduce the level of competition and increase the cost of service to the consumer.