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Paterson officials outline Patterson Plus revamp, bulk-pickup gains, new trucks and anti-dumping cameras
Summary
City staff described improvements to the Patterson Plus service app, increased use of scheduled bulk trash pickup, two new DPW trucks, community cleanups and plans for cameras and citations to reduce illegal dumping.
Chief of Staff Dassal Tilos said the administration is overhauling the Patterson Plus app to clean and re-route constituent reports so staff receive and respond to resident requests in a timely way. "Our goal through the revamp is making sure. That staff members received the information they're addressed in a timely manner, and they were responding to residents to advise them on what actions were taken as far as their concerns," Tilos said.
Nut graf: City officials said changes to scheduling and equipment are intended to improve pickups and reduce illegal dumping. They reported that resident adoption of scheduled bulk trash pickup rose from about 27% to nearly 60% since the program began and that two new Department of Public Works trucks were purchased: one dedicated to downtown collection and one to follow up on bulk-pickup zones.
Officials said a recent change in the city’s garbage contract reduced downtown collection days from six to two; the downtown truck is intended to restore more frequent service. The mayor said the city has been studying best practices, is pursuing affiliation with Keep America Beautiful and has scheduled recurring community cleanups, beginning with Earth Day.
Tilos and the mayor also described plans to deploy cameras to detect illegal dumping, work with the legal team and DPW on citations, and enforce penalties; the mayor said the city has already identified and caught more than 20 people illegally dumping. The administration said it will coordinate with police and DPW on enforcement and public education.
Ending: Officials asked residents to continue using Patterson Plus, participate in scheduled cleanups and report problems; the mayor said the city will provide updates as the app revamp and camera program move toward implementation.
