By Darren Svan | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – Shreveport consumers pay twice for the same tire disposal service, first as a disposal surcharge and then with taxpayer funds budgeted to public works, who pays to get rid of thousands of tires picked up each week at illegal dump sites.
There are sites near the airport, Queensborough or Booker T. Washington High School, the City Council said.
City officials believe unscrupulous business operators or tire haulers are to blame but police are unable to hold them accountable, according to statements made at a City Council meeting.
“We got to let the public know because it’s the taxpayers’ money,” said Jarvis Morgan, the city’s public works director.
Taxpayers are funding about $180,000 annually out of the public works budget to have them transported to a permitted waste tire facility. So citizens are effectively paying twice because they already chip in a $2.25 surcharge on each tire at the dealer.
“They’re just simply dumping wherever they want,” Morgan said. “I don’t think it’s the homeowners that are doing it. I think they’re most likely business owners who are just trying to get around going to a dump site and paying a dump fee.”
Public works spends approximately $15,000 each month to send loaded 36-foot trailers to a plant in Longview, Texas, Morgan told The Center Square.
“They are actually dumping them all over the city, so it’s no specific place,” he said. “We do have dump sites that we kind of monitor, and we put our cameras there. They’ll see the cameras out there, and they’ll try to transition to another location that we have no clue about.”
A major tire retail business in Shreveport told The Center Square that they track the shipment and transportation of their tires, which are disposed of in Minden, who sends certification when they arrive.
The company said its tracking system accounts for sales and disposal. The manager also said that tires are illegally dumped on their property, too.
An automotive repair shop said they use a local contractor, who arrives each week and hauls theirs off to what he believes is a credible facility.
Efforts to stop the illegal dumping have been largely unsuccessful. Frustrated with the cost to collect those tires and their contribution to blight, city officials turned to an enforcement solution that’s being developed by the city attorney, who was directed to draft a new law.
Attorney Marcus Edwards told the council that the state’s disposal system may unintentionally be contributing to the problem.
“I know that there are some discussions at the state about legislation,” Edwards said. “What we’re discussing is that they’ve accidentally created a disincentive to actually throwing the tires away by charging a tire fee.”
Chairwoman Tabatha Taylor asked the police department about its ability to cite violators for litter or tires.
“How are we really enforcing that, because that’s all a part of the blight initiative?” Taylor said.
Police Chief Wayne Smith was unaware of the number of citations his department has issued but he said that more than 30 cameras were purchased and are placed at major dump sites.
“When you see one or two tires here or there, that tells you one thing,” Smith said. “When you see hundreds of tires, it tells you a different story.
“You’ll find the suspects who are capable of littering our city with huge amounts of tires in every neighborhood,” Smith said, “and almost on every major thoroughfare because they are the ones who obviously have the capacity and ability to do that.”
Morgan sends out daily crews, along with city equipment, to pick up tires at vacant lots and abandoned properties. He believes that tire haulers see an opportunity to unload their truck and take it.
“They may be driving around and just see a location that’s prime and go ahead and get it off the truck,” Morgan said.
“That’s unfair to you all, and it’s unfair to the taxpayer,” Taylor said. “I know people sometimes think it’s not a big deal. It is if you live next door to it.”