ANSWERS ELUSIVE IN WASTE AUDIT DISCLOSURES FALL SHORT, SOME SAY.

Byline: Heather MacDonald Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - The documents turned over by the city's two waste haulers do not resolve the key questions at the heart of the City Council's audit of the companies and their city contract, a council member said Monday.

The records and reports released by Santa Clarita/Blue Barrel Disposal Co. and Atlas/Consolidated Disposal Services do not provide the City Council with enough information to evaluate the companies' compliance with the franchise agreement, said Councilman Cameron Smyth.

``To my mind, the documents provided were woefully inadequate,'' said Smyth, a member of the council's solid waste subcommittee. ``Neither response was sufficient.''

The City Council ordered the audit to investigate whether Santa Clarita residents, who pay $22.13 a month for trash pickup and recycling services, have been overcharged and to probe Santa Clarita's failure to meet a state law requiring that the amount of trash sent to area landfills from the city be reduced 50 percent by 2000.

Blue Barrel and Atlas declined to turn over most of the documents requested by Ernst & Young, the firm auditing the city's trash contracts, asserting that those reports and plans are proprietary information not available for city review, according to letters sent to auditor Troy Dahlberg.

``I understand the haulers concerns, but we need to reach a middle ground that allows our questions to be answered,'' Smyth said.

Smyth and Mayor Frank Ferry said they would look to City Attorney Carl Newton for guidance on what information is, in fact, proprietary.

``We're walking a fine line which we don't want to cross,'' Ferry said.

At today's 6 p.m. City Council meeting, Dahlberg will present his findings to the council members, who are expected to discuss whether to continue with the audit, which has been criticized as politically motivated.

``We're really going to leave it on the council's lap as to what next steps should be taken,'' Dahlberg said.

Although the city approved new franchise agreements with Blue Barrel and Atlas nearly a year ago with a 4-1 vote, it has yet to execute those agreements. Councilwoman Laurene Weste argued vehemently that the city should award the contract only after other firms are allowed to bid on the lucrative franchise agreement.

If the council decides to continue with the audit, it will have to dip into the city's reserve accounts for funds. Nearly $100,000 has already been spent on the inquiry, which was originally expected to last eight weeks.

``We want to cooperate,'' said Blue Barrel General Manager Karl McCarthy. ``We're not withholding anything.''

Atlas General Manager Matt Terrell declined to comment.

The documents turned over by Atlas included records of a $250 contribution to Councilman Bob Kellar in 1999, a lunch for city staff members that cost $52, and $11,100 in contributions to local charities.

Neither Blue Barrel nor Atlas turned over any specific information about the fees the companies pay to dump trash at Chiquita Canyon Landfill. While the monthly rate was set in 1996 based on a ``tipping fee'' of $34 a ton, both companies now pay around $11 a ton, records show.

That has led to claims by Santa Clarita residents that they have been overcharged for trash disposal.

However, neither Blue Barrel nor Atlas was required by its contract to report the reduction in tipping fees and to adjust rates accordingly. The provision was removed from the franchise agreements in 1999 as part of an attempt by the City Council to keep rates steady, records show.

The city recycled just 33 percent of its trash last year, far below the 50 percent level set by state law despite dozens of recycling programs. Few cities were able to meet the mandate, state officials said.

A city study found that errors at Chiquita Canyon Landfill and by Blue Barrel employees were to blame. While those mistakes have been corrected, according to city officials, questions remain about whether the city staff, under the direction of City Manager George Caravalho, should have caught the problem sooner or been able to avert it with better record keeping.