Ron Bergeron, President, Sun Bergeron, Issues an Open Letter To the People and Elected Officials of Broward County, Florida

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--"Let's stop the circus! As a loyal and proud citizen and businessman of Broward County, I am outraged by the elected officials who are ready to feed at the trough of Waste Management in order to protect a 25-year waste disposal monopoly. Sun Bergeron was formed to give the people of Broward the benefits of real competition, lowering costs and bringing new technologies to better protect taxpayers' pocketbooks and the environment.

“Yes, let's stop the circus. But let the show go on where the cost of admission to participate is fair and equitable for all. Open and honest competition, the foundation on which America was built, has enduring benefits which the citizens of Broward County so rightly deserve.”

"Monopolies give companies the power to exclude competitors and to charge high prices. During its long term Broward County monopoly, Waste Management / Wheelabrator continued to raise its waste disposal prices to more than $90 per ton. Sun Bergeron entered the marketplace and competed in a fair and open competitive bid process, driving disposal costs in half to benefit the public. Only now after Sun Bergeron championed competition and the city of Miramar undertook a competitive bidding process that resulted in millions of dollars in savings to its taxpayers, does Wheelabrator roll out a 'loyalty payment,' essentially trying to buy back its monopoly with a second bite of the apple outside the full and open procurement process.

"Wheelabrator is now offering a one-time payment to cities to ignore the competitive procurement process. Wheelabrator has customers all over the Country, yet it is only offering this payment to Broward communities and is doing so only after losing its monopoly. The timing is more than suspicious; it is part and parcel of Wheelabrator’s practice and pattern to keep its monopoly and maintain dominant market share by keeping competition out of Broward County.

"I urge government officials of Broward municipalities to not be tempted to accept the cash incentive Wheelabrator is now dangling outside of the procurement process. This so called 'loyalty payment' does not go to the solid waste funds of the municipalities, as it should if it were a legitimate revenue sharing payment. Rather, it goes to the city’s General Fund, to be spent at the complete discretion of elected officials with no tracking of the line item cost of the city’s solid waste programs. If the cities bite, Wheelabrator retains a significant market share in commercial and solid waste disposal and competition cannot secure enough business to continue to operate profitably. So Wheelabrator keeps its monopoly and is once again the only game in town. And there is no competition to challenge its rates or fees.

"I urge all citizens and officials to consider the effects of this feeding frenzy. Under both Federal and Florida law it is illegal to engage in conduct designed to create, maintain or extend a monopoly. There are specific antitrust laws to prevent monopolies which harm the consumer, here, cities and their taxpayers.

"Yes, let's stop the circus. But let the show go on where the cost of admission to participate is fair and equitable for all. Open and honest competition, the foundation on which America was built, has enduring benefits which the citizens of Broward County so rightly deserve."

Sincerely,

Ron Bergeron

President, Sun Bergeron