For California’s city managers and public works directors, the last few years have felt like a slow-moving regulatory squeeze. Between AB 939, AB 341, AB 1826 and SB 1383, compliance has increasingly required data tracking, vendor coordination and navigating CalRecycle’s detailed implementation record requirements. The challenge has evolved from basic waste removal to data intelligence, coordinating complex vendor networks and ensuring audit readiness.
CityGreen Consulting, led by founder Michael Balliet, has been helping jurisdictions navigate these challenges since 1991. Now, the firm is bringing that experience to CityGreen Connect, a proprietary platform designed to streamline regulatory compliance. The platform combines compliance tools with three decades of Balliet’s consulting expertise distilled into an accessible platform.
One of the biggest threats to long-term compliance is staff turnover. When a veteran recycling coordinator retires, the institutional program knowledge often leaves with them. CityGreen Connect serves as a digital vault for institutional memory, centralizing records, protocols and documentation that capture how and why a city complies.
“A city’s compliance status shouldn’t be at risk just because someone retires,” noted founder Michael Balliet. “The tools we provide to monitor and execute compliance programs work together with forms and historical records to preserve institutional knowledge.”
The SB 1383 Implementation Record has become one of the biggest pain points for jurisdictions. It’s not enough to do the work; cities must document it and be able to demonstrate it for years. CityGreen Connect offers line-by-line guidance with specific regulatory references for each record, helping staff understand what satisfies state requirements. That guidance gives staff more context than a standard document repository or database.
CityGreen Connect is designed for the broader solid waste ecosystem that often stretches city staff thin. The platform brings city departments, franchise haulers and solid waste vendors into one connected system, with each group working from a view built for its role. Dedicated modules support waiver tracking, procurement monitoring, edible food recovery coordination and inspections and enforcement, with real-time status indicators showing what’s complete and what still needs attention.
SB 1383 regulations and enforcement practices continue to evolve statewide, and local programs must evolve with them. CityGreen Connect is built to grow alongside these changes, with ongoing development focused on enhanced hauler collaboration tools, automated reporting capabilities and deeper integration with other municipal systems.
“CityGreen Connect has significantly improved our ability to manage compliance across multiple franchise haulers,” said Raja Sethuraman, Public Works Director for the City of Costa Mesa. “By centralizing everything into a single system, it has streamlined collaboration and substantially reduced our reliance on manual spreadsheet tracking. I highly recommend it to any local jurisdiction seeking a comprehensive solution.”
CityGreen Connect also comes with the team behind it. Subscriptions include access to on-call consulting support, so when a complex situation arises, staff can draw on additional expertise.
“The platform lets city staff run the day-to-day with confidence,” Balliet said. “When something calls for deeper expertise, they can reach our team or bring in the consultant they already work with. We treat expertise as part of the product, not an add-on. That combination lets us serve a broader range of California jurisdictions without giving up the high-touch service that has defined our practice for decades.”
Together, the platform and its consulting support give jurisdictions a centralized way to manage compliance while continuing to work with the experts and partners they trust.