The Mayor’s Council of Guam voted to remove itself from handling abandoned vehicles under the Recycling Revolving Fund after council members and staff described procurement thresholds, market limitations and unpaid invoices that hindered vendor participation.

Why it matters: The Recycling Revolving Fund provides about $1,500,000 annually for island recycling and bulky-item disposal. Mayors said procurement rules, vendor market capacity and a backlog of unpaid invoices made it impractical for village governments to run the abandoned-vehicle work.

Executive Director’s procurement timeline and legal threshold: The council’s executive director told the meeting that the council followed procurement rules for the abandoned-vehicle procurement and outlined the timeline of the recent effort: the memorandum of understanding was signed Jan. 6 and monies were deposited Jan. 10; bid specifications were signed Feb. 25; the bid packet was sent to the attorney general’s office on March 23; the packet was published June 4; a pre-bid conference was held June 12; bids opened July 7 (eight registered, five participated); notice of intent to award went out July 31; and a stay of procurement (protest) was filed Aug. 13. The executive director said anything above $25,000 must go through formal procurement (an IFB) and that abandoned-vehicle work historically exceeded that threshold.

Council members flagged unpaid invoices and vendor reluctance: The executive director said the council recently received "stacks" of invoices going back to 2022 and 2023 that the staff is reconciling with the Department of Administration. Mayors said recyclers reported that overseas processors now require vehicles to be stripped of plastics, glass and interiors before acceptance, increasing processing costs and limiting the local market. One mayor said many recyclers were unwilling to bid because of prior payment problems and capacity constraints.

Motions and outcomes: The meeting records several formal steps:
- The council agreed to request an attorney general's opinion on whether the Mayor’s Council should be treated as a single agency or 19 separate municipal entities for procurement purposes (action to pose question to AG for opinion; executive director to draft question with the council).
- A motion to remove only the abandoned-vehicle portion from the Mayor’s Council’s responsibilities passed after debate. The motion was moved and seconded during the meeting; the chair called for the ayes and the motion passed.
- Subsequently, a motion to return the entire Recycling Revolving Fund program to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) passed and "superseded the previous motion," meaning the council decided to propose that EPA/DPW assume full responsibility for the fund’s work, including abandoned vehicles.

Discussion versus decision: The transcript records extensive discussion about procurement thresholds (the $25,000 threshold was repeatedly cited), whether the council should continue to aggregate village needs into a single procurement, and whether the market and vendors can meet large consolidated procurement requirements. The executive director recommended reconciling invoices and determining market readiness before rebidding. Despite discussion of alternatives (bundle purchases, BPAs), the council concluded that, given unpaid invoices, procurement protests and limited vendor capacity, the abandoned-vehicle work posed implementation risk and should be removed from the council’s responsibilities.

Operational and fiscal clarifications recorded in the meeting:
- The council receives $1,500,000 annually in the Recycling Revolving Fund (as stated in the meeting); how that ceiling is allocated and the allowable administrative costs were discussed and remain governed by the fund’s law and board approvals.
- Procurement thresholds discussed: $25,000 for formal bidding; the abandoned-vehicle procurement packet exceeded $500,000 and was handled as a bundled, whole-council procurement.
- Vendors reported that overseas recyclers now require bare metal and minimal mixed materials, increasing processing tasks locally (removal of plastics, glass, seats and carpets) and reducing the number of eligible local processors.
- The executive director reported receiving two years of outstanding invoices and said staff were reconciling them with DOA.

What’s next: The council said it will send a formal question to the attorney general seeking a procurement interpretation (whether the council is one agency or 19 separate municipal entities for procurement purposes) and the executive director will continue reconciling invoices with DOA. The council voted to remove the abandoned-vehicle work and then voted to request that EPA/DPW take the program back; the transcript does not record EPA or DPW acceptance.