City postpones trash can rule

The Jennings City Council has decided to place an ordinance on hold that would have amended the city’s garbage and refuse rules to include requiring residents to remove waste containers from the curb within 24 hours of their pickup day, or face a fine.

“I am in agreement with the intent, not the extent of this ordinance,” Dist. C Councilman Clifton Lejeune told council members.

At Tuesday’s regular council meeting, council members voted to postpone the item for 60 days, based on feedback they received about lack of clarity regarding enforcement of the ordinance.

The motion to postpone the issue was made by Dist. A Councilwoman Carolyn Simon and seconded by Lejeune. Dist. B Councilman Johnny Armentor was present at City Hall, but said he refused to attend the meeting because he disagreed with the way the decision was being handled, claiming that his vote in support of the ordinance was blocked by the other council members.

Jennings Mayor Henry Guinn said he agreed that more clarity was needed regarding the language of the ordinance in regards to enforcement.

“We will be renewing our contract with Republic soon and we could have another contract with new language,” he said. “It may be better to study and talk to Republic, that way we have something on the table that works for everyone. We are not running from the fact that there is a problem. We need to answer questions about how we will enforce this. Do we even need a fee or is the verbiage too loose? These are all things we will address and try to find a solution.”

Jennings resident Tim Guinn told council members that he supported the ordinance and had researched similar rules on the books in other cities.

“I think it's a great thing, we need to get our city cleaned up,” he said. “Other cities adopt similar ordinances and many of them require the cans to be out of sight. We are way behind on this.”

He also said he felt that if the issue was not addressed, that it could lead to bigger problems.

“I understand the issues with the elderly, but if they can find a way to get the can to the road, they can find someone to take it back in,” he said. “People speed on the highway every day and there are not enough cops to catch them all, but with no law, how can we stop them? If you don’t do anything, you will end up with nothing. I know we have bigger problems, but bigger problems could come from not addressing the smaller problems.”

Resident Angela Lehman also addressed the council members.

“This is definitely a move in the right direction,” she said. “Hopefully the council will respect the 60-day time frame because I think this is enough time to answer all the questions and come up with a solution that works for everyone.”

Council President Stevie Van Hook said that many details about the enforcement of the rule would have to be laid out before he would even consider supporting the ordinance amending the rules.

“This was a poorly-written ordinance that would be better served by the council and the mayor working together to come to a solution that better serves the entire community,” Van Hook said. “There is no mechanism in place that authorizes us to fine people. The city inspector is not deputized to issue tickets, and there is no system in place with the court for people to contest the fines. I agree that the ordinance addresses a valid cleanliness and safety problem, but we want to do the right thing, not just the fastest.”

Van Hook explained that there have only been six complaints received in the city inspectors office in two years about cans being left out, and that there was a 100 percent compliance rate in resolving those six complaints.

According to an article published in the Jennings Daily News on Sunday, Sept 10, there were 134 containers, or around three percent of Republic customers observed with their cans still out after 24 hours. Van Hook noted that the JDN article was completed without noting the weather conditions at the time or without considering any issues Republic may have been having that week with scheduling.

“According to the article on Sunday, we have a 97 percent success rate on getting people to comply,” he said. “I think that is a really good success rate. There were no calls made to the city inspectors office during the time of the study and no calls made out by the city to address the three percent that were noted. Before we go out and issue any fines, we need to at least make an effort to contact people. I have worked in home health for many years and I know many elderly residents that cannot carry their cans up and down the driveway, so they will bring their trash out daily in a small bag and leave their cans at the road.”

He also said he felt that the ordinance in its current form could cause an unnecessary inconvenience to residents due to the fact that the $25 fine could possibly be tacked onto a resident’s water bill.

“The ordinance in its current form does not detail how the fine will be assessed,” said Van Hook. “If we put the $25 fine on a residents' water bill, and then they cannot pay their account, this could cause an undue burden on someone because they would then have to pay to turn their water back on, plus there is the inconvenience of having basic water services interrupted.”

Van Hook said he felt the issue would be better addressed first with a conversation.

“Nobody has an issue with making our roads safer and our ditches clear of debris, but I would recommend that the mayor’s office first attempt to contact those individuals asking them to bring back in their containers,” said Van Hook. “I think the issue should be addressed with a conversation and little common courtesy. The government cannot be the one policing everything.”

The ordinance is being postponed for 60 days and could be considered again at the city council meetings slotted for November. Guinn said he and Van Hook would be meeting representatives from Republic Thursday to address some of the issues and concerns.

“We recognize that there is an overall issue with trash cans and where they are placed and that is what we want to address with Republic this week,” Van Hook said. “We want to make it clear to citizens what the requirements are so that they can take part in the conversation and we are going to hold Republic accountable for their part as well.”