The City of Littlefield is working diligently to address the continued trash problems. We apologize that this has been an ongoing issue and ask citizens to call City Hall to let them know if you are having problems in your area so that it can be addressed.
With the very heavy rains this week the alleys were impassable and the landfills in the area were closed. Littlefield’s landfill has been closed to the public this week due to the excessive rain in the area. Our trash trucks have been dumping there since Wednesday. The Abernathy (Lubbock) landfill, which is a common diversion point, just opened Thursday and had wait times of nearly three hours.
City crews will be working overtime on Friday and Saturday to get the dumpsters dumped this week. Another ongoing problem has been the availability of parts, service, and new equipment. The City has ordered two new trash trucks. The lead time on new truck purchases is nine months to one year. The first truck will arrive the end of August of this year, and the second truck will arrive March 2022. In the meantime, the City has purchased two other used trucks to have as run and have as spares. As repairs that use to take a day or two are now taking weeks, we want to have more than enough equipment to cover when a piece is down.
Another major problem that is affecting us in numerous ways is the labor shortage. We have five vacant positions in public works. Our primary trash truck driver was injured on the job and will not return to work for another couple months. We are struggling to find people that want to work. It does not matter how much equipment we have if we can not find capable operators. We are addressing these problems the best we can by moving people around from other roles to take care of the major needs. We are also in the process of making significant changes to compensation packages to retain our good employees and attract new people. We need people who want to work and who will pass a drug test. This issue is plaguing all businesses across the Country. If you know someone that is looking for a job, please send them to City Hall.
We know this problem is past the point of understanding, and please know that we are committed to getting it addressed as quickly as possible. We are using contractors to fill in whenever they are available. We believe we have our equipment issues dealt with until the new fleet shows up. Our biggest hurdle remains in labor, and we are making every attempt to hire good people. Thank you for your continued patience, and we will get back to providing you the quality service you have come to expect and deserve.