By Ted Fischer
November 9, 2009

At the MWMA Fall Summit in Orlando, Frank Bernheisel of Gershman, Brickner and Bratton (GBB) spoke on a panel aimed at educating cities on the differences between general fund and enterprise fund budget methods for the solid waste industry. Not only did GBB work within Baltimore to identify the best method of budgeting their system, but also they took the extra step and viewed options for rerouting. The enterprise study provided the city with an analysis of “full costs” of municipal solid waste (MSW) system elements and activities. The re-routing analysis reviewed collection route structure and identified alternatives for efficiency and cost savings. Bernheisel told attendees that the process in which GBB studied the enterprise system for Baltimore consisted of seven steps which included: data collection and analysis; the review of operations; a financial review of the current system; interviews with other city departments; the use of a benchmark by using data from other large Maryland cities and the surrounding jurisdiction; and develop an implementation plan and a public outreach plan to make sure citizens understood that the change wouldn’t drastically impact them. While GBB has been working with Baltimore to create a new path, the process is still in progress and is close to completion.

terviews with other city departments; the use of a benchmark by using data from other large Maryland cities and the surrounding jurisdiction; and develop an implementation plan and a public outreach plan to make sure citizens understood that the change wouldn’t drastically impact them. While GBB has been working with Baltimore to create a new path, the process is still in progress and is close to completion.

Also on the panel was William C. Mummert, Orlando Controller, who discussed the process of full cost accounting. Full cost accounting is a management tool that recognizes the full costs of all resources used or committed to programs or services. Full cost accounting consists of direct costs or operational costs including personal, fuel, repairs and supply costs; indirect or overhead costs; and depreciation and amortization of future costs, including landfill closing cost, long term costs for workers and vehicle replacement costs. Full cost accounting identifies the true cost of a solid waste program (collection, disposal, recycling) by customer category (commercial, residential) and helps cities establish rates and user fees that are sufficient to recover the full cost of services. “Full cost accounting, can help control costs by accurately identifying all the costs of a particular service,” said Mummert. “It ensures fiscal accountability and provides justification of rates and user fees to customers and elected officials and more accurately compare cost of city service to possible private providers. Complete and accurate cost information fosters better decision making.”

For more information on the General Fund to Enterprise Fund Session at the MWMA Fall Summit in Orlando, visit the website for presentations and speaker contact information at www.usmayors.org/mwma