By JIMMY LAWTON

OGDENSBURG -- A lengthy debate left Ogdensburg with out an official change in solid waste removal law, despite the fact the Department of Public Works has already been implementing it.

In spring of 2014 city council gave consensus to allow the DPW to implement a new brush pickup n a trial bases policy, but did not officially change the law to reflect the policy it implemented.

A resolution put forward Monday would have changed the law to reflect the current policy being implemented by the city, however that law failed in two separate votes Monday.

A debate broke out between city councilors after Deputy Mayor Michael Morley said he believed the city should pick up limbs regardless of their diameter. A proposed change to the city’s solid waste law would have put a six-inch cap on tree limbs.

Despite the fact it does not coincide with city’s current law the DPW is not picking up tree limbs or trunks larger than 6 inches.

DPW Director Scott Thornhill said the city is able to get rid of branches and trunks of 6 inches or less in diameter through a deal with a company that chips them and hauls them away at no cost. He said the company can’t chip larger debris.

The policy itself had already been implemented by the city’s DPW after City Council gave consensus to try it last year.

However, Morley said the changes in the city’s brush pickup have caused problems and left the public angry. He said it has also left the city looking like a mess.

Mayor William Nelson said the changes were made to reduce costs for the taxpayers by lightening the load for DPW workers. He said cuts to the department have left the city with a smaller crew, while the workload for the DPW has increased.

Thornhill said picking up limbs and trunks more than 6 inches in diameter would require the city two run two-trucks and would likely result in only a few pickups.

Morley suggested the city pick up brush on cases by case basis when it’s called in by residents as it had done in the past.

Thornhill said his goal has been to balance service with costs and he is aware that it is a sensitive topic. He said more than 500 “informational” documents have been sent to people who were in violation of the new policies and only 16 people were repeat offenders.

He said the city’s goal is has been to inform residents of the new policies and that the initiative has been effective.

In a split vote the council agreed to amend the proposal to include mulch pickups and pickups of limbs larger than 6 inches, however, the amended proposal failed when it went for approval. Councilor Jennifer Stevenson then proposed the law be passed without the amendments and it once again failed with councilors Michael Morley, Brian Mitchell, Daniel Skamperle and Wayne Ashley voting against it.

Although the law did not pass the board did not direct Thornhill on which policy it should follow.

In an interview outside of the meeting, Thornhill said he would continue to follow the city’s consensus policy despite the fact it does not match current law. He said he waiting for direction from city council or the city manager before making any changes to current operations.

Also speaking at the meeting was resident Ken Loffler who said he had received two summonses for having animal feces in his brush piles. However he said the waste did not come from him and was the piles weren’t in front of his home.

Councilor William Hosmer said he was concerned about people being ticketed for yard waste that was not their own.

City Manager John Pinkerton said the property owner on which the debris lies is the person who will be held responsible for any problems. Pinkerton said this is because the city has no way of knowing who put what, where.

Pinkerton likened it to someone leaving a dilapidated television in someone else’s yard.

“Unless you can find the person who left it, it becomes your responsibility,” he said.