A change in the trash pickup schedule has left some Bernalillo residents confused and annoyed, and town councilors Monday evening passed that displeasure along to the contractor.
Adam Meyer, district manager at Road Runner Waste Services, told councilors that a route change caused about 140 customers to not get their trash collected on time. He said the company has responded to the error by sending out extra trucks, which will be repeated for another couple of weeks until everyone knows the appropriate pickup day under the new schedule.
Martinez said truck-mounted cameras are being used to verify when pickups are made.
Councilor Phillip Valverde said he’s gotten some calls from customers whose trash was left curbside.
Mayor Jack Torres said the situation is complicated by the company’s inability to handle the volume of telephone calls from residents concerned about the missed pickups.
He said councilors’ efforts to notify their constituents of the changes were meant to supplement those of the contractor, which he felt “threw us under the bus” by not taking responsibility for the customers’ confusion.
Meyer said at the meeting that the blame for the mistakes should be assigned to himself.
The action items on the agenda were largely routine, with councilors approving budget adjustments to reflect the receipt of $447,926 in grants and $5,000 for fire department overtime, billed to organizers of special events.
