At its Sept. 23 meeting, the Paris City Council received an update from CARDS, the city’s contracted solid-waste provider, on the company’s transition to municipal collection and the first weeks of commercial service. CARDS representative Jason Fitzgerald told the council the company has signed roughly 890 commercial accounts and delivered 909 containers, exceeding the city’s original estimate of about 650–700 accounts.

The change to CARDS’ service prompted questions from council members about missed pickups, billing and how businesses and residents should request changes. “We’re still taking changes in frequency, quantity, even service date changes,” Jason Fitzgerald said, noting staff and CARDS are handling calls and will provide monthly reports to the city. He added the software used for commercial invoicing currently shows a line labeled a “fuel surcharge,” which CARDS is explaining to customers as the longstanding city street-usage fee and is working to relabel with its software provider.

Council members pressed for faster, clearer communications to businesses and residents. One council member requested weekly status reports that would flag missed routes and explain corrective steps: “I would like at some point to have a good touch point with these business owners from a representative of CARDS,” the council member said. Council members also asked for a simple outreach channel — a phone number or email — that businesses can use to get a local, responsive contact.

CARDS acknowledged early “speed bumps” from swapping long-established service models and said the company is running daily routing calls and adding staff where needed. Fitzgerald said CARDS has tried to fast-track on-call responses and that some extra pickups were handled at no additional charge during the transition. He also said commercial accounts are billed a month in advance to cover disposal costs, which can make the first bill appear larger; he explained the company’s billing practice results in clients seeing two months on the first invoice.

Council members and CARDS also clarified residential rules: the company’s representative said residential households are generally limited to two 96-gallon carts; households needing more are typically advised to consider commercial-container solutions. CARDS said it will continue to provide monthly performance reports to city staff and that staff and the company will keep channels open so the city can quickly identify missed pickups and follow up.

The council did not take formal action on the update. City staff told the council CARDS will keep providing reports and will work with city communications staff to update FAQs and contact information online to reduce public confusion.

Ending: Council members repeated a request for prompt reporting and clearer contact information for businesses and residents; staff and CARDS said they will continue to adjust operations and provide regular reports to the council.