A number of county citizens recently received a summons initiated by St. Louis County to appear in Court on Tuesday, July 28 at 7:00 p.m. The hearings will take place in the court of Judge Robert Adler at the St. Louis County offices in Keller Plaza, 4544 Lemay Ferry across from Sams Club at Lemay and Mehl Avenue.
The County's suit is for enforcement of the county's trash program which is currently being contested in court.
Residents in two of the cases scheduled for July 28 say they dump their trash in a dumpster either at work or at an adjoining business. This has been the case for the past 20 years and now, suddently, it's illegal.
A rally in support of county residents being sued is planned for July 28 at the Countys South County Court location just prior to the hearing. Organizers suggest arriving prior to 6:45 p.m.
A state Court of Appeals ruled that the county had to respect the new law’s two-year waiting period. Meanwhile, the county forgot to establish penalties for haulers who sign up customers in the exclusive territories in violation of exclusive contracts.
The result has been confusion. Losing haulers are trying to entice their previous customers back into the fold, while haulers who thought they had exclusive contracts are discovering that they don’t.
Meanwhile, a second lawsuit lurks, this one claiming that setting up garbage districts requires a popular vote. And a possible third lawsuit may be in the making.
This could get awfully expensive for the county. One losing hauler, Waste Management Inc., says it expects to lose $65 million in business over two years as a result of the changes. “We had to park trucks and lay off over 60 employees,” says a spokeswoman. “It could be damages that we’ll ask for.”
The County's suit is for enforcement of the county's trash program which is currently being contested in court.
Residents in two of the cases scheduled for July 28 say they dump their trash in a dumpster either at work or at an adjoining business. This has been the case for the past 20 years and now, suddently, it's illegal.
A rally in support of county residents being sued is planned for July 28 at the Countys South County Court location just prior to the hearing. Organizers suggest arriving prior to 6:45 p.m.
A state Court of Appeals ruled that the county had to respect the new law’s two-year waiting period. Meanwhile, the county forgot to establish penalties for haulers who sign up customers in the exclusive territories in violation of exclusive contracts.
The result has been confusion. Losing haulers are trying to entice their previous customers back into the fold, while haulers who thought they had exclusive contracts are discovering that they don’t.
Meanwhile, a second lawsuit lurks, this one claiming that setting up garbage districts requires a popular vote. And a possible third lawsuit may be in the making.
This could get awfully expensive for the county. One losing hauler, Waste Management Inc., says it expects to lose $65 million in business over two years as a result of the changes. “We had to park trucks and lay off over 60 employees,” says a spokeswoman. “It could be damages that we’ll ask for.”
One of the most amazing things I've experienced since becoming involved with subdivision affairs is the loyalty some residents have for their trash haulers. Before St. Louis County implemented its plan, we tried consolidating haurlers ourselves. We never even got close to a consensus. Some residents wouldn't even consider changing.
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