NEW ORLEANS — A Metro Disposal truck made its way down North Dorgenois Street in the 7th Ward on Tuesday afternoon. It's the day trash is supposed to be picked up.
But drive around parts of town and the signs are there: It's not happening as often as it should in Metro's territory.
“The trash is not being picked up on a regular basis," said Bryant Nunnery, a 7th Ward resident. "Sometimes they’re supposed to pass on a Tuesday, you might not see them until next week."
The City Council on Thursday will vote on an ordinance that could suspend the $24 sanitation fee for August, given the ongoing problems.
“People shouldn't have to pay for the service if their trash hasn't been collected. It's simple as that,” said District D City Councilman Jared Brossett, who authored the ordinance.
“We’re paying for it and not getting it. Come on, man,” Nunnery said. “They got to do something about this, you know?”
“The mayor is opposed to that. By our estimation, that could cost us about $3 million at a time when we really can't afford to do that,” City Hall spokesman Beau Tidwell said Thursday. “More significantly, it doesn't really solve the problem.”
Tidwell would not say if Cantrell will veto the ordinance if it passes the council.
Emails among city leaders obtained by WWL-TV through a public-records request paint a picture of growing frustration with Metro in the Cantrell administration: Everything from complaints from citizens to a firehouse not getting trash picked up.
The city's contract with Metro does allow them to face fines for poor service, an idea Deputy Chief Administrative Office Ramsey Green suggested on June 21.
So far that has not happened.
“That's a conversation that -- it's an open conversation. That could still happen,” Tidwell said. “That's not our first option. That's not our first choice. Right now, we are trying to work with them because there is a labor shortage. That is what they're dealing with.”
Metro owner Jimmie Woods last week told a City Council committee he hopes to have things under control by the end of the month.
Nunnery hopes it won't be that long.
“It's nothing good about it. I hope that something can be done about it sooner than later,” Nunnery said.