Group Threatens To Sue Tulsa Trash Board

A group is threatening to sue the Tulsa Authority for the Recovery of Energy or TARE over alleged violations of the open meetings act and competitive bidding laws.

The group, calling itself "Tulsans United for Fairness" says it will file a lawsuit next week and ask for an injunction to prevent TARE from signing contracts with new vendors for the service.

Three people, all Republican politicians, say they know better than the trash board about what Tulsa wants because they've knocked on a lot of doors campaigning. So they're threatening to sue the city to get some input on the trash service.

"The decisions were made without giving genuine consideration to the citizen's opinions," said Judith Adams with Tulsans United for Fairness.

Adams ran for Tulsa city council last year, but lost and says she doesn't believe anyone wants anything to change with the trash.

"They don't like the fact that we'll be going to once a week trash collection. They don't like the identification chip in the trash receptacle, so there's numerous things they're opposed to," she said.

They claim the TARE board - the body that regulates trash service in Tulsa - violated the open meetings act and competitive bidding laws in creating the new system.

George Gibbs ran for city council last year but lost and now he is this group's attorney.

"It just looks like the TARE board is in charge. We didn't elect them, we didn't appoint them. They don't care about the citizens opinions and there's a group of citizens who are just fed up," George Gibbs said.

02/13/2012 Related Story: Questions Persist About Tulsa Trash Changes

At Tulsa City Hall, TARE points out their members spent years planning the trash service and had many opportunities for public input.

They believe the current system, created 32 years ago, is obsolete by industry standards - and the new plan should have incentives to throw away less and recycle more.

Unless something changes - the new plan will start in October.

The city said it would comment on a lawsuit that's yet to be filed; while Tulsans United for Fairness says it plans to file that lawsuit early next week.