garbage collection gets an f

whoa - what's that you say? why it wasn't too long ago when 8 council members, during a pre council workshop, applauded our garbage collection program as working great and keeping the streets clean. saying it's fixed though is a little short of actually fixing it.

the barrels are great, the streets are cleaner, the public loves it and most of all, it's cheaper. garbage on all counts. the staff picked a lesser quality barrel that is easily damaged and there is still trash on the streets along with an abundance of barrels left by a couldn't-care-less contractor.

the barrels left out in plain sight were so hard to police that the council changed the ordinance to allow them anywhere but in front of the house. hate to say it but i said that would happen. the public uses them because that's their only alternative. and cheaper? please! how collection of 64 gallons of garbage once a week for $17.81 is cheaper than twice-a-week unlimited collection for $12.50 is something that only a council member could rationalize in the most vacuous area of the mind.

yes but you can take all your excess to the "convenience" station in an area near you. balderdash. in our 300+ square miles there are only two convenience stations. in fact they are so inconvenient that the name was changed to "drop off" station. a couple hours and half a tank of gas and they are convenient to everybody.

in my eight years on the council i learned over and over that nobody takes the blame for bad government. some might suggest that gary jackson was sacked for his bungling of the garbage but he was trying to implement what a bumbling council directed. besides, charles boswell was equally culpable as he was the manager in charge. the blue ribbons for inept public policy go to kenneth barr, jeff wentworth, wendy davis, becky haskin, and jim (my wife wants me to bring home a barrel) lane. they did it. they voted the vote and saddled the rest of us with an albatross.

oh well, in 7.5 years the council can vote for something better - but they probably won't.

copyright 2007 clyde picht
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