Alpine Township contracts with Dragoon Environmental Services (DES) to provide solid waste collection to households and businesses. Until recently, DES had an exclusive franchise to provide this service in Alpine, which meant that other waste collection firms could not operate legally in the township. The price per pound of waste collected was regulated at 24 percent above the average total cost of collection. Cost data for the most recent year of operations for DES are as follows: Data on customers for the most recent year are as follows: The Township Board of Alpine is considering allowing other private waste haulers to collect waste from businesses but not from households. Service to businesses from other waste collection firms would not be subject to price regulation. Based on information from neighboring cities, the price that other private waste collection firms will charge is estimated to be $0.05 per pound (=$100 per ton). DES's CEO has approached the board with a proposal to change the way costs are allocated to households and businesses, which will result in different rates for households and businesses. The CEO proposes that administrative costs and truck operating costs be allocated based on the number of customers and the other collection costs be allocated based on pounds collected. The total costs allocated to households would then be divided by the estimated number of pounds collected from households to determine the cost of collection. The rate would then be 24 percent above the cost. The rate for businesses would be determined using the same calculation. a. Based on cost data from the most recent year, what is the price per pound charged by DES for waste collection under the curre system (the same rate for both types of customers)? b. Based on cost and waste data from the most recent year, what would be the price per pound charged to households and to businesses by DES for waste collection if the CEO's proposal were accepted? Complete this question by entering your answers in the tabs below. Based on cost and waste data from the most recent year, what would be the price per pound charged to households and to businesses by DES for waste collection if the CEO's proposal were accepted? Note: Do not round intermediate calculations. Round your "Average allocated cost per pound" and "Price" answers to 4 decimal places. Round your "Allocated cost per customer" and "Total allocated costs" answers to the nearest whole dollar. Show less