WESTLAND, Mich. (WXYZ) — Westland is withholding $100,000 from Priority Waste after weeks of missed trash pickups and yard waste left sitting at curbs well past scheduled collection dates.
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Mayor Kevin Coleman is holding back the payment as the city pursues additional remedies available under its contract with the company.
Deputy Mayor Jim Godbout says the $100,000 figure may actually be on the low end.
"It's unfortunate that the city had to do this, but we have to look out for our residents who are ultimately footing the bill for this," Godbout said.
Godbout says the contract includes a $100-per-day penalty for each missed pickup — and with hundreds of homes affected daily, the total liability could be significantly higher.
RELATED STORY:Priority Waste promised trash pickup by Thursday. It's Friday & some still wait."I think the penalty is $100 per day of a missed pickup, and you start adding up, you know, several hundred homes per day that get missed, and the number is probably higher than that," Godbout said.
Residents say the problems have been going on long enough.
"Our compost has been sitting for probably 10 days to two weeks at a time before they come back and pick it up. So it gets pretty stinky," Rosemary Gregory said.
Ed Shumate, a Westland resident, says the missed pickups have been a persistent source of frustration.
"Sometimes the trash can sit here for a few days, and nobody comes to pick it up, and it piles up for a couple of days and, you know, it doesn't look so good," Shumate said.
Shumate says he supports the mayor's decision to take action.
"I really appreciate all that Mayor Coleman is doing for us, especially for standing up against these guys and telling them, hey, look, you gotta do your job," Shumate said.
His message to Priority Waste — which recently brought on a new CEO — is direct.
"Get it together and do your job for the people," Shumate said.
Resident Rosemary Gregory says the $100,000 penalty is a good start, but the city should be prepared to go further.
"I say great, maybe it's not even enough, you know, money is the motivator for people, and $100,000 is a start," Gregory said.
The situation is raising questions about whether other communities served by Priority Waste could take similar action. Todd Perkins, a lawyer and former city attorney for Highland Park who currently serves as city attorney for Inkster, says the answer is likely yes.
"I believe absolutely that's the case," Perkins said.
Perkins says many municipal contracts include liquidated damages clauses that allow cities to seek predetermined penalties when a contractor falls below a set standard.
"A lot of these contracts also have things called, what's called, liquidated damages. Those are predetermined damages for failures within the contract. And so you predetermine if you fall below a certain standard per day, per household, which could be quite substantial for a city like Westland," Perkins said.
Perkins also says cities should have a backup plan in place before problems escalate.
RELATED STORY:Oakland, Macomb, Wayne Counties all continue having issues with Priority Waste"If I'm advising the city, the city should have a secondary contractor in place in case of emergencies. They may even be a little more expensive, but expense there is no expense when we're talking about getting trash out of people's yards and off people's lawns and out of people's driveways," Perkins said.
Priority Waste was contacted for comment, but had not responded as of publication.
Westland says it will continue to monitor the situation as Priority Waste works to resolve outstanding collection problems.
Residents experiencing missed pickups are encouraged to report them by calling City Hall at (734) 713-3888 or emailing
mayor@cityofwestland.com.————————————————————————————
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