Trash

Every month, the city of Huntington discovers more problems with money than it knew it had. And now comes what should be an embarrassment. The city has employees who are paid to collect garbage and trash. They don't work full-time schedules. The equipment they work with is in such bad condition that it's practically unreliable, and now some on the City Council say residents should get refunds of their garbage fee because workers aren't doing their work.

It should be enough to make privatization a priority.

Here is the situation as outlined by Herald-Dispatch reporter Byran Chambers following this past Monday's City Council meeting:

HUNTINGTON -- Huntington City Council members will form a committee to create a plan for cleaning up loose trash in streets and alleys.

The idea for the committee came out of a discussion Monday night about problems that the city faces in picking up garbage. Councilman Jim Ritter, who was ill and did not attend the council meeting, had sponsored a resolution on the agenda requesting that the sanitation department begin picking up uncontained garbage in alleys and streets at least once a month as they are required to do under a city ordinance.

If the work does not begin, the council will take immediate steps to reduce the $15 monthly refuse fee, Ritter's resolution states. ...

Several council members said they were confused by Ritter's resolution, because reducing the fee would not allow the city to purchase new garbage trucks or keep the sanitation and trash divisions at their current staffing levels.

But Mayor David Felinton acknowledged that changes are needed to address the problem. When the ordinance requiring that sanitation workers pick up loose trash once a month was adopted in 1995, the department had 70 sanitation employees. The city now only has half that amount, Felinton said.

"Loose garbage is not being picked up on a monthly basis," he said. "We have to be reactive rather than proactive."

Felinton suggested that the city work with Richard Cobb, a community volunteer who has organized a citywide litter cleanup program.

(Time out: In other words, the city does not have the resources to perform this basic function that it levies a tax to perform. People pay $15 a month, but that's not enough. So let's rely on volunteers to do the city's job. How long will it take to burn people out?)

Councilman Garry Black inquired whether the city should revisit contract provisions that allow sanitation employees to work five hours a day, but get paid for eight. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 598, which represents sanitation workers, has a four-year contract with the city that expires in June 2008.

"I'm not suggesting this incentive be completely done away with," Black said. "Our sanitation workers work hard and do a great job. But maybe this incentive is greater than it should be."

Felinton said the incentive is a common practice for cities across the country. The idea behind it is that if sanitation workers were forced to work a full eight-hour shift, the same amount of work would be accomplished, he said. Providing incentives creates efficiency, he said.

"Besides, this is one of the worst jobs anyone can have," Felinton said. "Retention isn't the best and eliminating this incentive wouldn't make it any better."

A meeting date for the newly formed rubbish committee, which will consist of council members, citizens and union representatives, has not been set.

It's time to face facts. For $15 a month, the city cannot perform its trash collection duties. For about $18 a month, people in rural Cabell County have their household trash hauled off efficiently.

Privatize sanitation services. Now.

But let's deal with some political realities here. Felinton will run for a third term next year. To get to the general election, he has to get through the primary. If he has more than two or three challengers in the primary, he needs a relatively small number of votes to win. That means he needs the votes of city workers and their families to get through the primary. Eliminating jobs in the Sanitation Department is not the way to get those votes.

Some people on the council are aligned with Felinton so tightly that they will follow him no matter where he goes.

Will political considerations to get in the way of wise and efficient government?

Unless someone comes up with an amazingly innovative idea soon, the only answer is to privatize sanitation services.