CITY HALTS PURCHASE OF TRASH TRUCKS.

Byline: Patrick McGreevy Daily News Staff Writer

The Los Angeles City Council imposed a moratorium on the purchase of new trash trucks until a review can be completed into past mechanical problems on trucks similar to the one involved in a fatal accident in December.

In memos released by the General Services Department, maintenance supervisors complained as far back as 1992 of problems with trash trucks made by Amrep Inc. of Ontario, including cracking body welds and malfunctioning automatic arms.

Department officials said Tuesday the problems documented by their department did not involve the packing blades that broke in an Amrep truck in December and raked a school bus, killing two children.

Department general manager Randall Bacon said the memos were part of the city's efforts with Amrep to work out bugs in a new technology and were not enough to cause the city to stop buying trucks from Amrep.

"Not when everything is considered," Bacon said. "These automated trucks were new and evolving technology. They were very heavy use trucks."

Still, council members complained that city officials have not kept them fully informed. Two council committees are scheduled to begin hearings today on the problems.

The General Services Department already had imposed a moratorium on accepting delivery of Amrep trucks to review a complaint from a competing bidder that the automatic arms that pick up trash cans are not designed to specifications required by the city, according to assistant general manager Jon Mukri.

The city had been taking delivery of about three trucks per week under an $18 million, 165-truck contract awarded in 1995, Mukri said.

However, Mukri said the council-imposed moratorium also freezes purchase of new replacement parts, which could hinder efforts to repair broken trash trucks and put them back into service.