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Wn It. ANALYSIS A. Benefits of Organized Collection The City is generally aware of the benefits of organized collection and has explored the issue for some time, as discussed in the June 30 Memo. These benefits were validated, and a number of other benefits became apparent, during the course of the 60 -day negotiation period. The Organized Collection Statute is a consumer -driven statute. The 60 -day negotiation period required by the Statute authorizes cities to negotiate with their licensed collectors of solid waste to adopt practices that are in the best interests of individual city residents and the city as a whole. It is well-established and well-documented that rates charged for the collection of solid waste and related services in an "open hauling system," such as is the case for the City currently, can vary from customer to customer. Moreover, licensed collectors have the ability to raise rates over time and impose additional fees and surcharges beyond the base price for services. Within an open hauling system, individual customers will likely have a difficult time negotiating with their service provider because customers acting alone do not possess the bargaining power that the City has, especially as authorized by the Statute. Moreover, many individual customers likely do not have the time and energy to perform such negotiations, or perhaps even the knowledge that the opportunity exists (assuming the opportunity actually does). The Organized Collection Statute empowers a city and its licensed collectors to come to the table and create a plan that not only addresses a city's identified priorities, but also helps ensure equitable and competitive pricing, adequate delivery of service, accountability, and general consumer protection. More generally, organized collection allows cities and their licensed collectors to work together to accomplish priorities that are directly aligned with the best interests of a city's residents and a city as a whole. City Staff continues to agree that organized collection provides a positive opportunity for the City to work in harmony with its Haulers to fulfill objectives in a number of important areas. B. City Priorities A primary goal of the Proposal, as required by the Statute, is to include identified City priorities. The City provided a list of 16 Priorities to the Haulers at the start of the 60 -day negotiation period, and the Haulers were asked to devise a proposal that meets each of these. The Priorities reflect long-standing City objectives and encompass a variety of areas of concern. Any one Priority is not intended to have weight over another, although as a practical matter, individual residents may have stronger interests in certain Priorities. The City additionally provided draft specifications to the Haulers at the time it distributed the Priorities. The draft specifications themselves addressed the Priorities to a certain degree, although some specifications were revised or deleted from the final Draft Agreement submitted on June 30. The Haulers specifically requested deletion of provisions concerning services provided for city -owned buildings and special events. The Haulers stated that these items were too difficult practically to work under a consortium system and were better suited for a competitive procurement process. The Haulers did not add anything new to the specifications in comparison to what the City initially provided, other than adding provisions detailing responsibilities associated with billing, and making minor clarifications to service methods. The Haulers' revisions to the 2