After floating the idea of reimbursing Dallas residents for missing their trash pickups for over a month, the City of Dallas will not follow through with these reimbursements, citing a prohibition in the City Code.
City of Dallas Public Information Officer Ashley Guevara told The Dallas Express on Friday, “The Dallas City Code does not authorize credits for missed or delayed garbage or recycle collections.”
In December, a trash schedule change resulted in residents not having their trash collected for the entire month. Complaints persisted well into January.
In January, then-Sanitation Director Jay Council said City officials were exploring the possibility of reimbursing residents whose garbage was not collected. The City has charged a monthly rate of $35.81 for its trash and recycling collection services.
Councilmember Chad West, who hired a private garbage service to collect the trash of his constituents, was the first to suggest the idea of issuing reimbursements. At the time, West said it could most likely be a credit to a future bill, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
However, that idea has not come to fruition. The Dallas Express asked Councilmember West for his thoughts on this but received no response by the time of publication.
Meanwhile, Jay Council, who served as director of the sanitation department throughout this debacle, has resigned from his post.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, his resignation was announced on Wednesday by City Manager T.C. Broadnax in an email sent to Mayor Eric Johnson and the City Council, among other officials.
No reason was given for his resignation.
In a statement sent to The Dallas Express by Guevara, the City said, “We thank Jay [Council] for his service to the Dallas community and wish him the best in the future. The City is committed to delivering service to our residence that continues to exemplify our values of service of empathy, ethics, excellence, engagement, and equity.”
Cliff Gillespie, who previously served as assistant sanitation director, was appointed as interim head of the sanitation department by Broadnax.
Gillespie will lead the department until a permanent director is appointed.