Englewood — The city has seen the last of its sanitation workers venturing into backyards to pick up trash. Officials said the stricken privilege will reduce expenditures – saving big over time.
Last month, the Department of Public Works ended rear yard garbage pickup — a longtime service most of the city’s 10,000 residents used. According to Director Clyde Sweatt, the move was the first part of a greater plan to consolidate and reconfigure the DPW.
Sweatt said Aug. 12 that "a lot of time [was] invested making sure we got all the garbage."
For the average garbage truck, the DPW director said that there used to be a driver, a second person to pull all garbage to the curb and a third person to load the truck.
The DPW has since reduced each crew’s manpower by one person per truck, Sweatt said.
"Now that the system is simplified, it’s easier." he said.
Topped with the elimination of a waste transfer station, city officials expect to further boost cost savings.
Garbage trucks now head directly to the Fairview garbage dump, instead of idling at the DPW transfer station where another three-person crew tackles the compacting of the garbage and the station’s maintenance.
City Council President Ken Rosenzweig said that according to a March 31 document then City Manager Bob Casey submitted, the changes will amount to $287,000 in savings at the DPW this year. According to the document, Casey predicted $400,000 in savings next year.
By reducing sanitation staff, city officials said that greater attention might now be paid to park and shade tree maintenance. In the past, the city had contracted out that work.
Rosenzweig said that the city chose not to renew a $100,000 shade tree contract with an outside company as a result of the switch.
And with attrition, Councilman Scott Reddin said that the DPW would not replace its average of three retiring employees at the end of each year. "So no one will be fired," he said.
Whether the DPW can both withstand the cuts and maintain its quality of services continues to be "a work in progress," Sweatt said.
The DPW has switched its garbage routes twice over the past month, admitted the DPW director.
There are exceptions that the DPW must meet.
Rear yard garbage pickup is still available to the 300 homes that agreed to pay $200 a year for the service. Disabled residents and residents older than 62 can register to continue it for free.
A separate garbage route has to account for these people, according to Sweatt.
"It definitely complicates things," he said. "Right now we are attempting to figure out what is the right combination of people and stops for each route that would even out the workload."
Rosenzweig said that however the DPW manages, the changes are necessary.
"By far the biggest expense in each department is personnel and salaries," he said. "So any time you can eliminate a job position it’s going to be a cost savings to the city and for all the years down the road."
