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SR-202-003 (42) e ;2-P2-C03 e I' C SEP 2 3 1880 Santa Monica, Californla, September 9, 1980 st!. TO: Mayor and City Council OCT 1 4 1980 FROM: City Staff SUBJECT: Proposal to Improve the Condition of the Clty'S Refuse Collection Fleet Introduct1on ThlS lS a request for Clty Counc1l approval of an i~~edlate and long-term plan to alleviate the problem of an aging refuse vehicle fleet and to lmprove ma1ntenance of the refuse fleet. ThlS plan lnvolves the following: Transfer of one vacant budgeted positlon from the Street Maintenance Division to the ~echanlcal Ma1ntenance D1V1Slon. The implementation of a Refuse Equipment Replacement Fund. The adopt1on of a systematic refuse vehicle replacement schedule lncluding a request to purchase two 20-cub1c-yard refuse packers immedlately. Funds are avallable from the Refuse Truck and Bln Servlce Fund for the purchase of these vehlcles. Background As part of a comprehensive analysis of the personnel, equipment, and activlties of the Maintenance Divlsions (Street Ma1ntenance, PubllC Facllltles Maintenance, Mechan1cal Malntenance, and Refuse Collection and Dlsposal) def1c1encies and areas for improvement have been identif1ed 1n several areas. Due to the vltal nature of the serVlce, Refuse Divlsion has a hlgh priority for the 1mplemen- tation of lmprovements. The remalnder of th1S report describes high-prior1ty ~c:? problems in the Refuse function that can be solved with some lmmediate as OCT 1 4 1980 well as long-term alternatives. lie SEP 2 3 1980 e e To: Mayor and Council -2- September 9~ 1980 In the past few years there has been no deflned replacement schedule for refuse trucks. An analysis was made at the tlme of budget preparation of how many trucks should be replaced based on the current conditlon of the fleet. This type of analysis 19nores potentlal for future wear and subsequent breakdowns. The realitles of munlclpal operat1ons are that for large capital items 1t can be twelve months or more from the tlme the need for replacement is determlned untll the ltem is purchased and delivered. For this reason, 1f a regular vehlcle replacement schedule is not adopted and adhered to, the purchases of replacement veh1cles can be delayed, causlng greater burdens on future capital budgets Th1S 1S exactly what has happened to our refuse fleet. Exhibit I lndlcates the year of acquis1tion of our current fleet. The current fleet of refuse collect1on trucks has aged. Many vehicles belng used are worn and need repa1r almost dally. Major body and frame repalrs are requlred to keep vehicles on assigned routes. A survey of several nearby clties with refuse fleets (Exhlbit III) 1ndlcates that refuse trucks are retained an average of seven years. All of these c1ties have one-time-per-week collection and a five-day-week operation. Santa Monica~ however, provldes a mlnlmum of twice-per-week collect1on wlth a full-scale~ slx-day-per-week operation. This mode of operation adds at least a 20 percent wear factor to Santa Monlca refuse trucks when compared to other fleets oper- ating flve days per week. Using seven years as a standard for five-day-week operations, Santa Monica should be on a five- or slx-year replacement schedule for refuse trucks. e e To Mayor and Counc1l -3- September 9, 1980 Of course, there are many other var1ables that affect the rate of wear of refuse trucks: - Type of refuse - Experience of drivers - D1stance to dump slte - Quallty and frequency of maintenance - Number of back-up vehicles Exhiblt II shows the aging schedule of our current refuse fleet. Assumlng a one to three spare to llne vehlcle ratio (the industry average) and a SlX- year replacement criteria, the CltylS current fleet is crippled with old age. There are fourteen dally collectlon routes. Using the parameters descrlbed above, the City should have eighteen refuse trucks six years old or less. The C1ty currently has only fourteen trucks in th1S category, and wlthin SlX months, only eleven trucks wll1 be age six years or less. Also, of the four- teen trucks, only three are tnree years old or less. The current situation of the overaged fleet is putting a severe strain on our refuse collectors as well as the mechanlcs. Due to the breakdown frequency, overt1me costs for both collectors and mechanics lS unusually high. Repair costs for the refuse collector fleet exceeded the 1979/80 budgeted amount by $116,735 ($119,900 budgeted, 5316,725 actual cost) ! ~~ 1_ I if Z ~ ) ! ~ . Vehicle Replacement Fund In order to keep the refuse fleet on an adequate aging schedule, 1t 1S pro- . rJ " posed the City 1mplement a replacement schedule that w1ll meet the six year maximum age limit and a one to three spare to line ratio. It is also proposed that a depreciat10n schedule be established for each refuse fleet vehlcle. e e To: Mayor and Council -4- September 9. 1980 ThlS schedule wlll be the basls of a replacement fee establlshed In order to accrue monies for the tlmely replacement of the item. ThlS replacement fee or rate shall be based on the followlng formula: RR = C-s p RR = Monthly Replacement Rate P Estimated useful llfe in months C = Estimated cost of a like item at the time of replacement (including make ready costs) S = Estimated salvage value of the eXlstlng ltem at the time of replacement Example: c = $50.000 (cost new) $80.000 x 1.6 (l07~ lnflatlOn factor) p = 72 months (SlX years) S = $5.000 estlmated salvage value RR = S80.00072 $5.000 = $1,042 monthly replacement rate ThlS rate will be charged to the Refuse Divlslon each month. The monles accrued from these charges shall be credlted to a separate Refuse Vehlcle/Equlpment Replacement Fund. (ThlS replacement strategy should eventually be implemented for all City vehi- cles malntalned by the Mechanical Malntenance Dlvislon.) In order to achieve the six year age maXlmum 11mlt for the fleet, the following e e To. Mayor and Council -5- September 9, 1980 refuse truck replacement schedule 1S proposed' T1me of Approximate No. of Vehlcles 6 Purchase Quantlty Cost Years Old or less Immedlately 2 $120,000 16 81/82 4 $245,000 17 82/83 5 $332,000 18 83/84 3 and each $220,000 subsequent year The purchase of three refuse vehicles per year in subsequent years should keep the refuse fleet within an acceptable aglng schedule. Transfer of One Budgeted Position from Street Maintenance Division to Mechanical Maintenance Dlvlslon An evaluation of the personnel and actlvity in the Mechanical Malntenance shop 1nd1cates that not enough mechanic time is available to provlde the necessary amount of preventat1ve maintenance inspections and serVlce for our Refuse Fleet and other City vehicles. To help allev1ate th1S situat1on, it 1S proposed that a vacant laborer I posltlon ln the Street Maintenance Dlvislon be transferred to the Mechanlcal Maintenance D1V1S1on as a Mechanic Assistant. This shift would requ1re an add1tlonal 51,650 (E Step) 1n annual salary. This posltlon would be used primarlly to perform preventative maintenance and periodic servicing of our refuse fleet and other C1ty vehlcles. The Laborer I pos1tlon, which is currently vacant, was ass1gned to assist the driver of the bucket truck that plcks up street sweeper dumpings and City- owned trash receptacles. It has been determined that this activity does not requlre two full-t1me employees. e e To: Mayor and Council -6- September 9, 1980 Recommendatlon In order to meet the long-term objective of providing an efficient and well maintained refuse vehlcle fleet, it is recommended the Council approve the fo 11 owing: 1. Transfer of vacant Laborer I posltlon from the Street Maintenance Olvlslon to the Mechanical Maintenance Olvlslon as a Mechanlc Assistant; $1,650 additlonal annual salary. 2. Approve the concept of prefundlng the purchase of replacement refuse vehlcles by establlshing a Refuse Vehicle Replacement Fund. 3. Approve the purchase of two 20-cubic-yard refuse packers for approxlmately 5120,000 uSlng funds from the Refuse Truck and Bln SerVlce Fund as flrst step toward lmplementlng a ratlonal refuse vehlcle replacement program. Prepared by: Stan Scholl Nell Mlll er Attachments: Exhibit I Exhiblt II Exhiblt III /gw e - EXHIBIT I SCHEDULE OF CURRENT REFUSE COLLECTION FLEET VEHICLE ! YEAR I PURCHASE TYPE OF TRUCK i NO. I PURCHASED PRICE I j 496 (1) 1979 S 57t156 30 yd. front-loader i I I I 497 (2 ) i 1979 54t836 20 yd. rear-loader i 536 (3) 1978 36t794 29 yd. one-man slde-loader I I 491 (4) 1977 24t750 20 yd. rear-loader I I 492 (5 ) 1977 41t280 20 yd. rear-loader j I 493 (6) 1977 41t280 20 yd rear-loader 494 (7) , 1977 40,347 20 yd. rea r- loader ! 537 (8) 1976 34 t 715 20 yd. rear-loader i 538 (9) 1976 34 ,715 20 yd. rear-loader ! 539 (10) 1976 36,920 20 yd. rear-loader 540 (11 ) 1976 34 t 715 20 yd. rear-loader I I I I 533 (12) I 1975 41t959 29 yd. side-loader I I I I 534 (13) 1975 41t959 29 yd. side-loader 535 (14) I 1975 41t959 29 yd. side-loader I 529 (15) 1974 27t518 20 yd. rear-loader 527 (16) 1971 26t639 20 yd. rear-loader 524 (17) 1970 25 tOll 20 yd. rear-loader 525 (18) 1970 25,011 20 yd. rear-loader I (19) I 516 1968 20,623 20 yd. rear-loader I 503 (20) 1960 12,119 20 yd. rear-loader I e - EXHIBIT I I REFUSE COLLECTION FLEET AGING SCHEDULE Year of Number of Purchase Vehicles 1980 ) 1979 2 ) 1978 1 ) -- 14 1977 4 ) 1976 4 ) 1975 3 ) 1974 1 ) 1973 ) 1972 ) 1971 1 ) 1970 2 ) 1969 ) 1968 1 ) -- 6 I ) ) ) ) ) 1960 Small packer used 1 ) for Pier refuse only e e EXHIBIT I I I SURVEY OF OTHER MUNICIPAL REFUSE FLEETS CITY REPLACEMENT TOTAL BACK-UP SPARE TO SCHEDULE TRUCKS TRUCKS LINE RATIO Manhattan Beach 5 years 18 3 1 :6 Jim McGovern 545-5621 Torrance 7 years 24 6 1:3 Mr. Gibson 328-4216 Long Beach 7 yea rs 71 16 1:3 Mr. Rambo 427-0917 Glendale 7 years 31 6 1 :4 Mr. Torres 956-3916 Inglewood 8 yea rs 16 4 1 :3 Bob Smith 649-7111 Burbank 6 years 25 5 1 :4 Mr. Pi erson 847-9622 * Santa Monlca 8-10 years 20 5 1:3 * Entlre fleet including back-up vehlcles should fall wlthin acceptable age range. At present only 14 vehicles in the fleet of 20 are age 6 years or less.