Council Members Skeptical New Garbage System Would Work in Wards 3 and 4

A proposed plan to transform the city's garbage collection system came under scrutiny Tuesday night, with council members expressing apprehension it would be effective in Wards 3 and 4.

City Manager Tim Dacey on Tuesday said bids on three separate single-arm automated garbage trucks are due back June 20, which if purchased will eventually free up much of the existing sanitation staff to focus on improving maintenance of the parks and the downtown. His plan dovetails with the ongoing search for a new DPW director, who when hired would help develop routes and schedules for the city.

Another two or three trucks could be needed in future years if successful, Dacey said.

"This is a really good way of doing it," Dacey said of the plan. "I've had five sanitation guys injured in the last five weeks. Three are on injury leave. We have an aging workforce – it's very, very expensive to be paying these guys to be sitting at home and not going to work .... People in Englewood are very resistant to change and I understand that. We need to reduce workman's comp and injuries, and this is really the only way to do it."

Council members Eugene Skurnick (Ward 3) and Wayne Hamer (Ward 4) expressed skepticism from the dais.

"I do not see this working feasibly in the 3rd Ward," Skurnick quipped. "I don't see this working in the 4th Ward either because of the number of cars parked on the street, the number of trucks and the difficulty that even people today have – for whatever reason – even accommodating this variable schedule that we have."

Skurnick said a prior presentation, which featured a video demonstration of the new single-armed trucks, wasn't detailed enough, and demanded a written draft with cost analysis. He suggested Wards 1 and 2 try the system first, and if successful, then include the remaining neighborhoods.

"This is massive, this will absolutely change the dynamic of how we do DPW," commented Hamer, adding narrow streets in the 4th Ward could prove problematic. "That's my reservation. I need to be very comfortable with it before we proceed."

Ward 2 Councilman Michael Cohen scoffed at the notion Dacey's plan couldn't work and called Skurnick's suggestion "not practical."

"The city of Chicago uses this system," he said. "I don't think there are more cars in the 3rd Ward than [in] Chicago. If the city of Chicago can figure it out I think Englewood could."

Dacey said the new garbage trucks would be able to pass through any street in the city.

Mayor Frank Huttle expects there would be no cost savings if implemented, as the 18-man garbage collection squad would be reduced to six men, with the remaining dozen redeployed for other city services.

"I have been requesting for several years an overall improvement on our assets in the city," the mayor proclaimed. "If the pilot works we have an opportunity to take our city workers to do a better job broadly... A lot of residents want our city to shine. This is one way of potentially achieving that goal."

Dacey's hope is the single-manned trucks – which cost slightly more than the traditional vehicles – can be on the streets by spring of 2014.