Should someone be paid if they don’t do their job?  Obviously not, in ordinary  circumstances.  The lawn service get paid when the grass is cut. A food server gets paid for the hours they’ve worked.  But when it comes to city contracts, it’s  a different story.  In the case of trash pick up in our city, the Waste Management  contract is awarded by  the Board of Public Works.  I’m not sure what those people do after the contract is awarded.   Apparently, they turn the whole thing over to an office administrator, and that’s who you call if you don’t have enough trash cans.  Trouble is, that person seemingly has no control over what the Waste Management  company does or does not provide.  If you complain about busted or missing  trash cans, the reply is:  “all I can do is e mail them.” And if they don’t do what you pay for?  Repeat: “all I can do is email them.”  Why such a flaccid response?   Obviously, the city can’t manage trash cans.

The Board members, themselves, are appointed by the Mayor, but the entire process is shrouded in mystery. If you go to the Board of Public Works website, you can’t find the names of the board members.  I did see a notice on the internet  from 2009 that a new man had been appointed to the board after someone retired.  But that was twelve years ago.   Actually, the decision on who to hire for trash services is a fairly major decision, amounting to more than half a million dollars.  But do any of these four people feel  responsible for the efficacy of local trash pickup?  Do they care if you have busted trash cans or fewer than you need for your rental property? Who holds the Waste Management  Company accountable ? Some cities fine companies for violating contracts.

The company won’t empty overflowing trash cans, but the cans are overflowing because there aren’t enough of them.  As Winston Churchill once said, “ It is a riddle,  wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma”  Why does our Waste Removal  contractor have such a stranglehold on the Department of Public Works?    Seems to me that the city can’t manage trash cans.  Or maybe they don’t want to.