Two private meetings between the haulers and city officials have already taken place.

But Commissioner Steve Shepard, who placed a discussion item about garbage collection on the agenda of today's 2 p.m. meeting, said residents are demanding public accountability for poor trash pickup service.

''I'm looking for performance of the contract,'' Mr. Shepard said. ''It's a rather simple request.''

One option if haulers fail to meet the terms of the city's solid waste collection terms would be to cancel their contracts, although Mr. Shepard declined to say whether such drastic action is necessary.

Today's discussion has been prompted by the hundreds of calls that pour daily into the offices of city employees and local trash haulers. Expanded garbage collection kicked off Aug. 3 and provides city-managed service to 23,000 new customers.

But some parts of the city aren't getting their garbage picked up or their pickup dates have changed. For some, information about collection that was to be distributed with new cans has yet to be delivered. And many people with questions about trash service have been unable to contact their hauler because of busy phone lines.

''Change can be disruptive, and certainly this has been disruptive,'' said Mayor Bob Young, who also is expected to weigh in on collection concerns today.

In a memo dated April 17 to public works officials, the mayor asked for a report on the ability of contracted haulers to carry out the job.

On Monday, he attributed recent problems with pickup to the unpreparedness of haulers.

City Administrator George Kolb said some of the most frequently received complaints already are being resolved.

City haulers also have extended customer service hours and are adding phone lines to meet the demand of incoming calls, Mr. Kolb said.

''The haulers seem to be working very hard to try to make the service work,'' Mr. Kolb said. But his weekly meetings with haulers will continue until the majority of problems are solved, he said.

''We'll meet as long as necessary to resolve the problem,'' he said.

Reach Heidi Coryell Williams at (706) 823-3215.