Columbus City Council discussed trash and debris pickup during Tuesday’s meeting that laid bare some of the challenges facing the city’s public works department.
Interim Chief Operations Officer Mark Alexander Jr. said when he traveled throughout the city over the weekend, he tagged more than 200 piles of brush and 180 piles of junk that will need to be hauled away.
“We have a real problem,” Mayor Keith Gaskin said. “He’s (Alexander) been working on a map for that, which will try to help us move forward with the workers that we have.”
Alexander said employees are paid overtime, particularly boom truck operators who have been working seven days a week to clear debris. He said in recent weeks, two pickups with trailers have been traveling throughout the city to pick up known piles of junk.
One of the problems the city faces is that it is not responsible for hauling away much of the junk, Alexander said, but rather that duty lies with the property owner. He said he’s seen entire rooms of furniture from apartments placed out on the curb for pick-up.
“Historically, we’ve not picked that up, and I think the city ought to quit because we are not serving our taxpayers when we aren’t picking up the brush that we are supposed to pick up when we are picking up things we are not supposed to pick up,” Alexander said.
The city is working out arrangements to determine what the city will pick up and what Golden Triangle Waste Service — with which the city contracts for garbage pick-up — will haul away, Alexander said. Also, the city is planning to notify residents via a flyer placed in their utility bills what types of items the city will haul away, he said. In the future, Alexander said there will be large dumpsters placed in town for people to dispose of junk.
The ‘ward system,’ public works pay
Alexander said he has asked Public Works Director Casey Bush to implement a two-year plan, to go into effect by the end of this year, to return to the “ward system,” where crews of six street workers would focus on individual wards. He said to put this plan in place, more workers need to be hired, and the department needs to purchase more equipment and vehicles.
Ward 1 Councilwoman Ethel Stewart said public works/street workers need to be paid better and noted the disparity between county and city salaries, which can affect staffing levels.
Starting pay for unskilled county road workers is $14.60 per hour, and the wage is higher for employees with job training, County Administrator Jay Fisher said. Columbus pays its entry-level public works employees $10.30 per hour.
“These workers need a pay increase,” Taylor said.
Gaskin agreed.
“Not only do they need a pay increase but our police officers need a pay increase and so do our firefighters — they all do,” he said. “We’re going to do everything we can to make sure we can do that.”
Gaskin offered praise for the tough job being undertaken by public works crews.
“I will again say loudly and clearly that we respect everybody who works in that department,” he said. “We will do everything we can to make sure they do their jobs properly and are paid a very fair wage.”
Election commission
In other business, the council appointed five citizens to serve four-year terms on the municipal election commission that coordinates and certifies municipal elections. All slots on the commission had expired.
The candidates appointed to the commission are Lavonne Latham Harris, Linda Jean Harris and Julie Parker, along with Penesha McDowell and George Sumrall who were reappointed.
The other candidates who applied for the slots on the board were Roy Hicks, Jermaine Shanklin, Pam Brock, Japa Castro, Wanda Corder-Jones, Jimmy Lewis Parker Jr., and Judy Dunaway.
Council members also approved a contract with Bam’s LLC of Columbus to maintain Friendship Cemetery. Located on South Fourth Street, the historic 70-acre cemetery has more than 22,000 graves. City will pay $3.827.00 per cut (33 total cuts yearly).
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