Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Works And Services topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Community Waste Disposal presents 2023'24 review; council presses company on weather alerts and customer follow-up
Summary
Community Waste Disposal presented annual service metrics and said customer-service grievances have declined; council members sought better advance notification for weather delays and faster follow-up on reported spills and damage.
Jason Romer, president of Community Waste Disposal (CWD), and municipal coordinator Wanda Smith presented CWD's 2023 and 2024 annual review to the Glenn Heights City Council on March 18.
Romer said CWD's data show a year-over-year reduction in customer-service grievances of about 37% between 2023 and 2024 and further improvement into January 2025. He described changes in routes and staffing and noted investments the company financed with a $20 million municipal bond for CNG truck parking, expanded transfer-station capacity and maintenance facilities. "We saw a great improvement," Romer said of the complaint metrics.
Council members pressed CWD on communications during weather events and on specific customer-service failures. Councilmember Benford asked why a February 19 cold-weather disruption did not generate earlier resident notifications; Romer said the company typically waits until conditions are clear enough to make a suspension decision and that notifications are issued once calls indicate widespread service difficulties. "When there's a major weather event... we're in constant contact with staff as quickly as we can make that decision," Romer said, but he acknowledged some events are difficult to forecast the day before.
Councilmember Hale recounted a resident report of paint spilled from a CWD vehicle on a city street in December. Hale said she emailed and followed up without timely resolution and asked what procedures CWD uses to dispatch a wash crew for spills. Romer said CWD has a wash crew that will power-wash spills and that he would investigate the specific instance and follow up with staff. "If we failed, which it sounds quite obviously like we did, we'll make it right and correct that," he said.
Council asked CWD to provide data on options for concentrating pickup to a single day for the whole city, to break down customer-inquiry types for 2024, and to return with a plan to improve advance notifications for service changes. Council and CWD agreed to explore a regular reporting cadence; Romer said he would work with City Manager Cliff Blackwell to schedule periodic updates, likely quarterly.
