Columbia City Council approves new job position aimed at improving trash collection reliability
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Columbia City Council voted Monday night to add a full-time position for solid waste packers in efforts to help make trash collection operations more reliable.
Brandon Renaud, Columbia Utility Services Manager, said the four positions are a starting point to gauge interest in the new position and more positions can be created as needed.
The employees hired would ride or stand on the rear of a trash or recycling truck and would manually lift and place refuse and recycling material into the back of a rear-loading refuse collecting vehicle.
The positions will not require employees to have a commercial driver's license (CDL). Those hired would be eligible to receive all normal city employee benefits and would be paid $15 per hour.
In addition, this position will be eligible for the $5 per hour add pay for hours worked manually collecting and placing material into the rear-loading trucks.
Renaud says this position will provide additional opportunities for temporary staffing agency employees, or others interested applicants, to become full-time city employees and be eligible for all employee benefits.
"It is anticipated that creating this position will reduce the Solid Waste Utility’s dependency on temporary staffing agency employees, helping to make collections operations more reliable," Renaud said.
Columbia Utility's Director, Dave Sorrell, said the department has somewhere between 12 and 20 temporary workers.
Andrew Hutchinson, spokesperson for the Laborer's Local 955, said he believes these positions will be heavily applied for by the current temporary workers.
"Our membership wanted to make sure that the guys that are keeping the trash system running, folks who have previously been temp employees had a shot at getting healthcare, higher wages, and even retirement," Hutchinson said.
There’s also no impact on the city budget due to several vacant positions, according to the city.
There are 28 total positions with the Solid Waste Utility department. Over half of them are open, as Sorrell said Monday there are 19 vacant positions.
"More folks are going to get raises and a pathway to good stable employment with the benefits that we all need to live," Hutchinson said.
Councilmember Betsy Peters, Ward 6, also adds that the position isn't the solution to all staffing problems.
Peters, says, "You need CDL drivers also so if you have nothing but guys that can throw trash and companies to drive the trucks, there's going to be a problem too."
Sorrell says the city will start with trying to fill these four positions, but he agrees that not all of the vacant positions can be filled with non-CDL required positions.
Other council members say there are bigger issues than staffing.
"I'll be pleasantly surprised if we're able to get four people to apply for these jobs, but like I said before all we're doing is papering over the big and real problem here and the whole trash system just doesn't work," said Ward 5, Matt Pitzer.
