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Comprehensive Review of S olid W aste Collection and Disposal Options v2.1 70 10/22/12 The intangible factors noted can be just as important as the cost factors in making a decision to outsource services or not. A discussion of the intangible factors that could affect the Town’s decision to outsource solid waste collection services is provided below.  Level of Service and Control. The Town currently provides residential curbside collection, multi-family and commercial collection, bulky waste pickup, and yard waste collection services using in-house resources. Decisions regarding the staffing, equipment, routing, and services provided are solely in the Town’s control, with the exception of recycling services, which are provided by Orange County. The Town could outsource all or part of the residential and commercial collection services it currently provides (e.g., residential curbside collection or commercial collection, or both). Providing solid waste collection services using in-house resources allows the Town to: continue to provide exemplary service to its residents; respond directly, promptly, and efficiently to residential and commercial needs; effectively manage complaints; and, provide for special circumstances. For example, the Town grants numerous exceptions for special pickup services without having to refer to a contract scope of work as would be the case if these services were outsourced. Under a contracted collection scenario, the costs for responding to special needs and circumstances are more difficult and cumbersome to manage. As such, continuing with in-house collection services provides the Town maximum flexibility to respond to its residential and commercial customers, although it may not be the most cost-efficient approach. In addition, current Town solid waste staff can be reassigned to various other tasks on an as needed basis. In general, the current level of service provided by the Town likely will be higher than if the services are outsourced.  Impacts to Town Employment. Outsourcing of solid waste collection services would likely result in some reduction in the Town’s SWS Division work force (salary and benefits).When implementing outsourcing, some positions could be transferred to a private contractor or reassigned within the Town. However, it is unlikely that all the positions would transfer to a private company, nor would the benefits provided to the Town’s staff necessarily be comparable to the pay and benefits currently provided by the Town.  Impacts to Waste Reduction and Recycling Goals. The Town is ultimately responsible for providing the infrastructure and municipal services to meet the State’s and Town’s recycling goals. Under a municipally-operated program, the Town has direct control over its progress towards these goals. However, under an outsourced solid waste collections program, a contractor may have incentives that conflict with these waste reduction goals, depending on the structure of a contract. For example, if paid by the ton collected, a contractor may be incentivized to collect more waste for disposal.