Kansas City’s Garbage Apology; Miami Beach Reminded of Its Precarious Position
Connecting state and local government leaders
Also in our State and Local Daily Digest: LAPD outreach to families of those killed by officers; gas utility under scrutiny in Vermont; and Great Lakes mayors question water agreement.
KANSAS CITY, KANSAS
GARBAGE | Kansas City’s municipal government has issued an apology for problems with trash collection that have reached a peak this summer. The problem lies in particular in the southern part of the city which is served by Town & Country, a vendor now owned by WCA Waste Corp. Significant trash collection delays—partly due to a driver shortage—have meant that, in a given week, there have been as many as 700 complaints of trash being picked up hours, or even days late. Additionally, an audit last year showed that more than 50 percent of Town & Country’s drivers were not qualified according to federal Department of Transportation regulations. Some of those drivers had either failed or refused to take a drug test. [The Kansas City Star]
MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA
SEA-LEVEL RISE | Rising sea levels have at least one South Beach resident down. The painted message “YOUR MILLION DOLLAR HOUSES WILL SOON BE UNDERWATER” appeared overnight in bold, block letters atop the abandoned South Shore Hospital, which was painted over within hours. Miami Beach has seen increased flooding in recent years, and the city has a five-year, $400-500 million plan to combat rising tides. “But we have great leadership in the Beach to deal with this,” said property owner Russell Galbut. “As long as we deal with it, Miami Beach won’t be underwater.” [Miami Herald]
MONKTON, VERMONT
ENDANGERED SPECIES | A gas utility remains under scrutiny for killing 77 endangered flowers near Monkton last month. Contractors for Vermont Gas Systems destroyed the plants, known as harsh sunflowers, while working to install a pipeline. The state can seek up to $42,500 per incident and a total of $170,000 per event for such incidents. But Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Louis Porter said it’s more likely the state will pursue a settlement that would help promote the recovery of the sunflower such as habitat protection. Porter said the incident seems to have been unintentional and that Vermont Gas told state regulators immediately about the death of the flowers. [VTDigger.com]
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
LAW ENFORCEMENT | The Los Angeles Police Department is moving to create a program to reach out to the family members of people killed by police. “If you hear some of the complaints of family members, of course some of it is that—they want to see the video. But a lot of it is, ‘I can’t bury my child’ because they don’t have a death certificate,” said Police Commission President Matt Johnson. “This will give them a specific point of contact.” Police Chief Charlie Beck said he didn’t know of any similar programs elsewhere in the U.S. [Los Angeles Times]
PORTER COUNTY, INDIANA
OVERTIME | The two directors of the county Voter Registration Office requested more money for overtime pay, only to be told by Human Resources they should be exempt as salaried employees. Republican Voter Director Sundae Schoon put in the request for $25,000 more in overtime pay for her and her Democratic counterpart’s office, citing a busy election year and a new state mandate to update registration records. That’s when county Councilman Bob Poparad asked how their overtime has been figured previously, considering they’re not paid an hourly wage. County Council now plans to review the overtime pay of all department chief deputies. [The Times of Northwest Indiana]
WAUKESHA, WISCONSIN
WATER | In June, the governors of the eight Great Lakes states approved a water deal that would give the town of Waukesha access to the Lake Michigan water supply. Now, a group of mayors from lakes region cities in both the United States and Canada are asking for a hearing to challenge that decision. The mayors have also submitted requests to President Obama and Prime Minister Trudeau for help in keeping water from being diverted to the Wisconsin town. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
NEXT STORY: In Tackling Opioid Epidemic, Bold State Actions Needed for Data Analysis Efforts