Waste Management Inc. of Florida's Reported Gross Receipt and Remitted Fees Audit (Period 1-1-16 to 12-31-18) 4-8-19MIAMI BEACH INTERNAL AUDIT REPORT
City of Miami Beath, 1700 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach, Florida 33139, www.miamibeachfl.gov
Office of Internal Audit
Tel: 305-673-7020
TO: Jimmy L. Morales, City Manager
VIA: Mark D. Coolidge, Interim Interna ditor >(vA4`-'� C--
FROM: Carmin Dufour, Tax Auditor
DATE: April 8, 2019
AUDIT: Waste Management Inc. of Florida's Reported Gross Receipts and Remitted Fees Audit
PERIOD: January 1, 2016 - December 31, 2018
This report is the result of a regularly scheduled audit of the franchise, public right-of-way,
sustainable initiative and roll -off fees charged, collected and remitted by Waste Management Inc.
of Florida during the 36-month audit period. In addition, the auditee's compliance with selected
provisions in the City Code concerning obtaining their annual business tax receipts, filing required
reports, etc. were also reviewed.
INTRODUCTION
Section 90-229 of the City Code paraphrased stated that the City shall not authorize more than
five (5) franchise waste contractors for residential and commercial solid waste collections and
disposal. These contractors provide waste collection and recycling services for commercial and
residential for multi -family residences with eight (8) or more units in the City of Miami Beach.
According to the Non -Exclusive Franchisee Waste Contractor Agreement, the waste contractor
is granted the franchise and is required to undertake and perform each and every obligation set
forth in this Agreement. The "Service Agreement" covers the provision of additional solid waste
collection and disposal and recycling services at certain City owned facilities and properties. The
Service Agreement is intended to have a term that will run concurrent with the terms of the Non -
Exclusive Franchise Waste Contractor Agreement.
In addition, City Code Section 90-221 requires each franchise waste contractor to pay the City a
franchise fee consisting of a percentage of the licensee's total monthly gross receipts established
by resolution of the City Commission. The term gross receipts means the entire amount of the
fees collected by the contractor (whether wholly or partially collected) for solid waste collection
and disposal within the City and including, without limitation, but excluding any taxes, and gross
receipts from servicing roll -off and portable containers. Currently, the authorized waste
contractors are to remit 18% of its applicable gross receipts in commercial waste franchise fees,
2% in public right-of-way fees and 1.5% in sustainable initiative fees.
Furthermore, Section 90-223 requires the franchise waste contractor to deliver to the City's
Finance Department, on or before the last day of the month, a true and correct monthly report of
gross receipts generated during the previous month from accounts within the City. The monthly
report shall include the customer names, service addresses, account numbers and the actual
amount of solid waste and recyclable materials collected from each customer. For example,
October 2017's report was due by November 30, 2017; November 2017's report was due by
December 31, 2017 and so on. Furthermore, Section 90-225 summarized states that any
franchise waste contractor who fails to remit any franchise fees timely shall pay a penalty of ten -
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Internal Audit Report
Waste Management Inc. of Florida's Reported Gross Receipts and Remitted Fees Audit
April 8, 2019
percent penalty per month with a maximum of 50% plus interest of 1 % per month.
There are currently the following two (2) authorized franchise waste contractors authorized to
operate in Miami Beach: Waste Connections, Inc. and Waste Management Inc. of Florida. In
addition, there are twenty-two companies including Waste Management Inc. of Florida that
possess business tax receipts authorizing them to operate roll -offs within the City's boundaries.
A roll -off can be defined as a container with a minimum capacity of ten cubic yards designed to
be transported by a motorized vehicle. They are typically used for the purpose of removing
construction debris, which include rock, metal and other materials used in connection with a
construction project or for the removal of large quantities of trash and bulky waste.
The following table provides a detailed breakdown of the fees remitted annually by Waste
Management Inc. of Florida for commercial waste, public right-of-way, sustainable initiatives and
roll -off fees during the 36-month audit period:
j 2016 2017 2018 Total_
(Jan -Dec.) (Jan -Dec.) (Jan -Dec.)
18% Commercial Waste $21165,343.12 $27496,059.48 $2,5383220.12 $7,199,622.72
...___......._w._...,._............. .... ...... .w... __... ...... _ ... ...... ................ ........ ...... .,..........•..•.......
2% Public Right -of -Way $216,661.26 $ 47)958.26 $253,642.36 $7%261.88 !
4
1.5% Sustainable Initiative $2071746.88 $246,702.52 $257,929.47 $712,378.87
_____». _...._.................. ...._........... .........„ _......._... _........ _................._..,.......... ...........,..,...._....._......»--- _......}._..._....._._...-.,,....._...-,......,...._..................,......_,.,........,.._,,..,,,..........,.»__.....,._.....f._.,...__......_....�....._...�....,....___,.,.,.... ,....._,.._,.....�._..._._,. ...,.........,�......•.. _..,........ ._... _ ,......... w....•.. 4 .__......,... .. ......._........._._.__.�.
18% Roll -Off Fees $327,619.41 $464,370.74 $521,377.35 1 $1,313367.50
•
Total Fees Remitted $259175370.67 1 $354555091.00 $3,571,169.30 - $999435630.97
s
BACKGROUND
Previously, the Office of Internal Audit conducted an audit of Waste Management Inc. of Florida
for the period of January 2013 to December 2015. Our audit report dated June 27, 2016 resulted
in an audit assessment of $9,106.20 which was subsequently paid in full by the waste contractor
and roll -off operator.
OVERALL OPINION
Testing confirmed that Waste Management Inc. of Florida remitted the correct amount of fees for
commercial waste, public right-of-way, sustainable initiatives and roll -off fees based on the
documents provided and customer confirmations received in adherence to the City Code and
Service Agreement. Furthermore, it was verified that the waste contractor/roll-off operator timely
obtained their annual business tax receipts and submitted the required certificate of liability
insurance policies. Furthermore, Waste Management Inc. of Florida properly sent the City the
required reports in adherence with the terms listed in the City Code which included their annual
Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Statements of Gross Receipts. In summary, no material
findings were noted as they were found to be compliant with the tested provisions.
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Internal Audit Report
Waste Management Inc. of Florida's Reported Gross Receipts and Remitted Fees Audit
April 8, 2019
PURPOSE
The purpose of this audit is to determine whether Waste Management Inc. of Florida accurately
reported all tested months' gross receipts to the City; whether the corresponding franchise and
roll -off fees were correctly calculated and remitted; whether the required reports were timely
submitted; and whether the contractor was compliant with other tested sections of the City Code,
related Ordinances and Service Agreement.
SCOPE
1. Review Waste Management Inc. of Florida's books and records to confirm that their
billings were correct; and that their gross receipts were properly reported and support the
monthly franchise fee, public right-of-way, sustainable initiative and roll -off fee payments
remitted to the City.
2. Confirm that the franchise waste contractor timely submitted the required reports in
adherence with the terms listed in the City Code which includes their annual Certified
Public Accountant (CPA) Statements of Gross Receipts to the City, and that amounts
reported therein agree with corresponding totals reported on the waste contractor's
Monthly Reports of Gross Receipts.
3. Confirm that the franchise waste contractor is timely remitting any fees owed to the City
each month.
4. Confirm that the franchisee waste contractor timely obtained their required annual City
business tax receipts during the audit period.
5. Confirm that the Waste Management Inc. of Florida has obtained the required insurance
in adherence with Section 90-223 of the City Code and the signed service agreement.
6. Confirm that all payments received were timely and correctly recorded in the City's
Financial System.
7. Confirm that the franchise waste contractor is purchasing recycling bins for the City.
EXIT CONFERENCE
This audit report was e-mailed to Waste Management Inc. of Florida's management whereby they
agreed to the contents contained herein.
F:\OBPI\$AUD\INTERNAL AUDIT FILES\DOC18-19\REPORTS - FINAL\Waste Management Inc. of Florida Final Report.docx
cc: Eric Carpenter, Assistant City Manager
Darrell Caldwell, Sanitation Department Director
John Woodruff, Chief Financial Officer
Stephen Zelitt, Waste Management Inc. of Florida
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