Council presses DPW on missed trash pickups, staffing and route optimization

Councilmembers from multiple wards told Director Anthony Crispino that residents continue to experience recurring missed pickups, damaged bins and closed 3-1-1 requests without resolution.

Crispino told the committee that DPW launched route optimization that has already improved metrics: "In FY '25, the average time to complete residential bin deliveries was approximately 58 days. In FY '26 to date, that average has been reduced to approximately 19 days with more than 80% of requests closed within service level expectations," he said. He described a multi-layer supervisory structure (route supervisors, grade 12s, collection managers) intended to identify and correct recurring route failures, and said escalation trucks and progressive discipline are tools the agency uses when retraining and supervision do not resolve chronic misses.

On staffing, Crispino acknowledged persistent gaps tied in part to employees on protected leave: he estimated roughly 25 employees on FMLA or similar protections — equivalent to about eight crews — and said DPW uses a swing shift and voluntary overtime to backfill routes. Councilmembers asked whether temporary or earlier contracting could help; Crispino noted the mayor's emergency declaration loosened procurement constraints and allowed the agency to expand contracted plow capacity during the storm but said routine contracting for collections is handled differently. He also said Kronos, a time-and-attendance system, is scheduled for deployment (collections first) and expected to improve overtime visibility if implemented on schedule.