Robert Amaro called the city to complain. Somebody had dumped a car load of trash right next to his house. The city told him it would take two weeks to pick it up. It took longer, more than three weeks, and during that time more illegal dumpers added to a pile that stretched a whole city block.
Sacramento's solid waste division no longer picks up illegally dumped debris. Last year, the city's attorney said the service can't be financed with the monthly garbage fee you and I pay - because it doesn't benefit the homeowner directly. Really? Tell that to Robert Amaro.
No other jurisdiction in the region interprets the law that way. Sacramento County and the cities of Rancho Cordova, Citrus Heights and Elk Grove all use garbage fees to pick up illegally dumped trash - and they pick it up within 24 hours, unlike Sacramento.
Worse, in 2009, Sacramento discontinued its popular neighborhood clean-up program. That allowed homeowners once a year to pile large junk items on city streets for pick up. Since then, illegal dumping has soared. The Capitol city has the most expensive service in the region, and the worst.
Ginger Rutland writes for The Sacramento Bee opinion pages.