The City of Atlanta's response to public waste:

"Our FY09 budget does not include any reserve crews, thus on any given day the level of absences require the remaining crews to cover the routes of the absent crews, which may further require overtime hours. We are well within the established overtime contingency in our budget.

A typical workday for our sanitation workers spans from 7:30 am – 4:00 pm, with 30 minutes for lunch and two 15 minute breaks. Lunch and Breaks may be taken during the day or at the end of their shift upon completion of their assigned route. It is not unusual for crews to work through their lunch and breaks. Workers may make themselves available for additional work upon completion of their assigned routes. Additional work is often necessitated based upon equipment failures, injuries, accidents, and emergencies. Solid Waste is service driven and therefore everyday dictates different circumstances and we adjust accordingly.

Should it be determined that any employees have violated the overtime policy, this would be dealt with in accordance with the City’s standard procedures for discipline.

The Department of Public Works cannot respond as to the status of your to open records request as it was not received by nor is it being handled by our department. We are also unable to respond to any allegations of improper work protocols without documentation for us to review and assess."