Call it trash day, if you will.

City commissioners at their meeting on Tuesday are expected to launch a new city audit that will examine everything from how the city’s sanitation workers are paid to why the trash service had a nearly $800,000 operating deficit in 2008.

“We need to do this audit because it is a significant service and it is facing a significant shortfall,” said City Commissioner Mike Dever, who has been pushing for the study.

City Auditor Michael Eglinski anticipates that he’ll complete the study by the end of the year.

But the study likely will be just the beginning of a conversation about the city’s trash service. Dever said he hopes the audit will provide the commission with data that will allow commissioners to consider whether the city should contract out its trash service operations rather than running a city-operated service.

“I think it is only fair that we evaluate that option because so many cities across the country do use third-party services,” Dever said. “The expectations are high for our service. Who knows whether an outside vendor could meet the expectations, but I think it is fair to look at.”

On Tuesday, Eglinski will ask commissioners to approve the overall scope of the audit. He’s proposing to study these three issues in the sanitation division:

• Are the city’s reported recycling rates and customer satisfaction rates for the sanitation department reliable. The city frequently reports having one of the higher recycling rates in the state, and customer surveys have shown residents to be highly satisfied with the service the division provides.

• How the city pays its sanitation workers. The division, which has a “task incentive approach,” assigns employees certain tasks or routes that must be completed during the day. When those tasks are completed, the employee is allowed to leave for the day, even if eight hours have not been worked. The employee is paid for an eight-hour day.

• Has management identified and implemented efficiencies to manage costs.

“This is really designed to try to get at some questions on the expense side,” Eglinski said. “I will look at the changes over the last few years to see what is going on.”

The division’s finances have deteriorated over the last several years. In 2003, the division had revenues that exceeded expenses by about $670,000. By 2008, the division had expenses that exceeded revenues by $767,215. The division has experienced a revenue shortfall each year since 2005.

The division has increased rates during that time period, but commissioners have said they are looking for a way to shore up the division’s finances without implementing a major rate increase.