Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

LOOKING IN ON: CLARK COUNTY

Some local property managers say Republic Services is not living up to its end of the deal the two groups struck in December regarding fees for overflowing trash containers.

Republic, however, says the property managers are the ones not playing by the rules.

The spat started two years ago when Republic began paying its drivers $4 for each photograph showing trash piled above the lip of trash containers. Republic would send property managers a copy of the photo and charge them a $50 "overflow" fee.

Property managers said the practice encouraged drivers to skip pickups to create overflows. They also argued that Republic had no right under county or city code to charge the fee.

After a Sun story in June Republic stopped paying drivers for photos. In December the two parties struck a deal under which Republic refunded $300,000 to property managers, and local government codes were changed to allow overflow fees and expand garbage pickup options.

New codes define overflow as "solid waste that has been piled onto a solid waste container that is already full to such an extent that the excess solid waste will spill onto the ground in the emptying process, requiring more than minimal manual cleanup of waste from the ground."

Nearly six months after the deal, Republic is ignoring that definition, said Barbara Holland of H&L Realty, which manages about 5,000 residential units.

"They are not following the new ordinances," she said. "They are fining us because it's over the lip, not because it's on the ground."

But Republic Area President Bob Coyle said property managers are causing unsafe conditions.

"They'll put a couch standing up in a Dumpster 3 to 4 feet over the top. When it falls out of the truck and kills some kid because it fell 14 feet, what do you do then?" Coyle said. "These people don't want to play by the rules either."

Don Burnette, Clark County's chief administrative officer, said the new code allows for appeals, but he didn't know of any.

"The county cannot make a determination every time drivers believe something they encounter is not in compliance with code," he said. "Then you rely on people to complain."

Republic also has another deal to worry about.

Its unionized drivers overwhelmingly rejected a proposed pay increase from the company last week.

Republic's contract with its 1,400 drivers expires June 11. Republic offered an $8.93 hourly wage and benefit increase over five years to drivers, who earn $24.34 per hour.

Republic spokeswoman Michele Voelkening said that a strike has not been part of the discussion and that the parties are close to an agreement.

Few people seem to like Clark County's annual budget. Even commissioners, who voted to approve the $5.8 billion budget May 21 had reservations.

The reason is that the county will fund only 50 of the roughly 700 new positions requested by county departments.

"That's astronomical to me," Commissioner Lawrence Weekly said. "It just seems to me like something different is going to have to be done."

Commissioner Tom Collins said the county was "going in the wrong direction," and Commission Chairman Rory Reid said he believes the county can do better.

Then there was Gary Peck of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada.

"You are going to get sued," he said, noting that the budget adds only one public defender to an office already swamped with too many cases. Leaving the office short-staffed fails to provide the constitutionally required adequate defense for the county's indigent, Peck said.

In the end, commissioners approved the budget after Reid emphasized that growth forces tough decisions and that changes can be made throughout the year.

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