"It's about one of the last boxes of toilet paper we have for the city buildings," said maintenance supervisor Paul Heater, pointing to a large box.
Supplies have dwindled down to almost nothing because City Council has failed to approve the mayor's $42,000 order for paper products.
The problem isn't toilet paper or paper towels. It's the $4,000 included for paper cups.
"Council wanted to know, 'What are you doing with $4000 worth of paper cups?'" said councilman George Muschal. "They got caught. We wanted to know what you're going to do with them and when they failed to give us an answer we denied their approval."
And now at buildings like the police department, paper supplies are becoming scarce. The shortage was the subject of a tongue-in-cheek video sent to Action News. It shows a nearly empty cabinet at the police station where toilet tissue is stored.
"The patrolman's bathroom which sits back here is completely empty of toilet paper and paper towels,"said the president of the local police union, Sergeant George Dzurkoc. "There's not a paper towel to be had in the whole building."
City Council President Kathy McBride toured the storage room at city hall Monday where toilet tissue is normally stacked 8 feet high.
She says the mayor's office has removed the paper cups from the budget request, and she's pleading with council to okay it before city buildings completely run out of toilet paper.
She says council should be focused on more important issues.
"It is an embarrassment," said McBride. "Here I'm in front of you talking about paper products, toilet tissue for senior citizens. This should never occur."
"Do your job! Get it done, you know? This is unbelievable. Lets move on to something much more needful," said Laverne Snead of Trenton.
