Through City Council Bill 2008-0538, Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton is proposing a 35-year, $750 million no-bid contract with Waste Management Inc. to continue the management of our city's Trail Ridge Landfill. This is a NO-BID contract – meaning he won’t allow any other companies to bid for such an expensive and long-term deal with the city. There are many reasons why this is wrong and it is important to encourage City Council members to vote against 2008-0538 and open the landfill contract up for competitive bidding. It’s Expensive If you were going to make a major purchase like a car, you would shop around, right Mayor Peyton wants to accept the Waste Management offer without knowing what other companies might offer. At least one other company has said they could offer a deal for tens of millions less than Waste Management. It’s Bad for the Environment Waste technology is rapidly changing, and alternative fuels are the way of the future. Florida is ALREADY behind the rest of the country, and if we get stuck in this three-decade contract, we’ll be much further behind. It’s Wrong This is certainly not the first time Mayor Peyton has done his friends favors with taxpayer money, and this is the second time he’s tried to sneak through this particular no-bid contract through City Council. Also, two of his closest friends, lobbyist Paul Harden and political consultant Mike Tolbert, have both worked for Waste Management. A bid process will provide much needed transparency to help eliminate the suspicion of favors and backroom deals.