SCOTT CITY -- A pair of car mats led Scott City to opt for caution over courtesy.

The City Council and Public Works Department received a complaint from a city resident, who said the city's trash collectors took a pair of car floor mats that were near her garbage cans last week when they came to empty her trash. The cans were near a back porch about 10 feet inside the woman's property.

Public Works director John Rogers said it had been a courtesy for years for trash collectors to pick up garbage cans that were so close to the road. That has changed since the complaint, and the city has gone back to following an ordinance that requires residents to move their cans to the curb for pickup.

There was some question as to whether the mats were on the cans or draped on a fence nearby when they disappeared.

Both Rogers and Mayor Jerry Cummins told the council that they had talked to the complainant and recommended a safe solution would be to pay for the mats. Rogers said the mats would cost $49.10 to replace.

The council had other ideas, and voted unanimously not to pay the bill. "If it's lying on a garbage can, then it is trash," Council member Rodney Holloway said. "I've left things on garbage cans before and they've disappeared with the trash. I didn't holler for the city to pay for it; it's my fault."

Holloway said the woman did not know for certain that it was a city worker who took the mats. "It could have been anybody driving down that alley," he said.

The council decided to uphold the curbside pickup ordinance but to make allowances for disabled residents. Rogers was instructed to come to an agreement to go on the property of those residents who were not physically able to move their garbage cans to the streets for pickup.

In other business:

-- The council allowed Falcon TeleCable a two-week extension on the last cables to be laid in Scott City. Kevin Goetz, Falcon chief engineer, had told the council in May that cable problems in Scott City would probably be cleared up by July 1.

Goetz and Falcon vice president Ron Hall may be at the council's Aug. 18 meeting to field additional questions about Falcon's upgrades, services and rates.

-- The city accepted a $1,551.74 bid from Holloway Carpet One in Cape Girardeau to recarpet and retile the council chamber and hallway. Holloway's bid was not the lowest: Larry's Carpet of Cape Girardeau bid $1,371.66 but did not offer the same services as Holloway, council member Gary Miller said.