BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Missed garbage pickup was the second-most received complaint from residents who called Buffalo's 311 Call and Resolution Center in February, and the deputy mayor says a shortage of working garbage trucks is to blame.
Deputy Mayor Benjamin Swanekamp said the city is operating with far fewer trucks than it needs to keep up with collections.
Swanekamp told me that of a fleet of 48 trucks, just 29 are working as of Monday.
"That's 10 fewer than we need, and 19 are in the shop right now," Swanekamp said.
He put the shortage down to the age of the city's fleet.
"Of the trucks in our fleet right now, 22 of them are over 10 years old," Swanekamp said. "The industry standard for replacing heavy equipment, like a double axle dump truck for snow plowing and a larger truck for garbage pickup, would be around five years rotation time."
WATCH: Buffalo has a garbage truck shortage, causing missed pickups across the city
It's a problem Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan's administration inherited, but it has been further complicated by a capital spending freeze tied to a pending lawsuit between Buffalo Comptroller Barbara Miller-Williams and former Buffalo Acting Mayor Christopher Scanlon.
To address the shortage, Swanekamp said he plans to file a letter of necessity to the comptroller requesting the release of bonds to pay for new trucks. But he added that stronger cash flow through increased property tax revenue would allow the city to replace trucks more regularly and keep garbage collection on schedule.
"If we were in a better cash flow situation because there was more revenue coming into the city, this wouldn't be an issue," Swanekamp said.
If money is released from the capital funds as requested, the city hopes to have a full fleet of garbage trucks by the end of 2026.
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