Trash subsidies to HOAs among cuts Turner is eyeing
Mayor proposes scrapping payments to those who opt out of city service
Mayor Sylvester Turner, working to close a $160 million budget deficit, has proposed scrapping payments that scores of Houston neighborhoods served by private trash haulers receive to help offset the cost of their waste contracts.
The idea when the pro- gram started in the 1970s was that residents should not have to pay property taxes for city trash services they were not receiving — particularly because they were already paying for waste pickup in their homeowner association dues. The city also came out ahead because the $6 monthly per-house subsidy was cheaper than the cost of the city serving each home itself, now estimated at $18 per home per month.
In scraping together a balanced budget for the fiscal year that starts in July, however, Turner felt the program was expendable. In many cases, the subsidies go to residents who have chosen to pay for more extensive services than those the city provides, such as having the trash picked up more frequently than once a week, or having workers walk up a resident’ s driveway to retrieve the trash rather than the homeowner rolling a bin to the curb.
Cutting these “sponsorship” payments to the 48,000 homes participating would save the city $3.5 million.
“When I drilled down in every department and every line item and I saw that line item sticking out, my question was, ‘Is this one that people can give up without hurting them and the core services, things that are essential to the city?’ ” Turner said. “I decided this was something the city at this particular point in time was not in a position to continue to sponsor.”
City Council will begin hearings on Turner’s proposed budget Monday, leading up to a final vote that could come as early as May 25.
In the past, mayors who sought to roll back the trash payments were rebuffed by council, and at least one neighborhood sued the city when its application to participate was denied.
Councilman Dave Martin, whose District E contains 32 neighborhoods with sponsorship
agreements, said he is concerned the move will wind up costing more if residents cancel their contracts and force the city to serve them.
“They’re going after the consumers for the money instead of making the proper budget cuts within the city departments,” Martin said. “Cut the budget an additional $3.5 million and leave everything alone. I can find a $3 million budget reduction underneath the pillows in some of the departments.”
‘Taxes for nothing’
Solid Waste Management Department leaders anticipate some neighborhoods will cancel their contracts but expect the change still will result in a net savings for the city.
Trailwood Village board member Tricia Bagley repeated a common criticism among King wood residents, who feel the city forcibly annexed them in the 1990s to leech tax revenue out of an affluent area and provide few services in return. Without the trash subsidies, she said, her neighborhood will be “paying taxes for nothing.”
“I was shocked they were considering that. It’s just a city thing that they tax us and then we don’t see any results on it, and now they’re not going to reimburse us on this?” Bagley said. “Some people will say, ‘Oh well, rather than raise our assessment, let’s just use the city.’ And then some people may be up in arms because they’re very accustomed to having backdoor trash pickup.”
At the $216 estimated cost of providing city waste services per home annually, Houston would need fewer than 16,000 homes to move from private waste contracts to city service to secure a net savings. That figure does not account for the cost of trash containers the city may need to purchase.
“If they end up saying it’s that big of a difference, that they will give up their contracts and will turn to the city, then yeah, OK, more than likely I’ll remove it,” Turner said. “I’m not trying to make their situation bad, I’m simply trying to balance a budget that’s $160 million short, and I’ve asked people to engage in shared sacrifice.”
The mayor also suggested, wearing a slight grin, that reporters examine the subdivisions now receiving trash subsidies.
An extra $6 per month
The three City Council districts home to 83 percent of the city’s sponsorship agreements, records show, also are the three districts with the highest median household incomes: District G on the west side, District E in Kingwood and Clear Lake, and District C, which covers much of the western half of the Inner Loop.
Martin acknowledged that he and many of his neighbors receiving private trash service in District E can cover a $6-permonth increase in their civic association dues. “If you’re used to getting your trash picked up twice a week and you’re used to backdoor service, most people are probably going to say, ‘Keep my six bucks,’ ” Martin said. “They’re mostly the people that have the means to pay an extra $6 a month.”
“If you’re used to getting your trash picked up twice a week and you’re used to backdoor service, most people are probably going to say, ‘Keep my six bucks.’ ” Dave Martin, city councilman
‘A pretty savvy guy’
Yorkshire Civic Association president Jack Smart echoed that. Residents in his 157-home neighborhood at Memorial and Kirkwood pay $17.52 a month for trash service after the city reimbursement, he said, and likely would accept paying $23.52 a month if the subsidy ends. Yorkshire residents get twice-weekly pickup from their back doors, Smart said, and have more flexibility on when and how heavy trash is picked up.
“Sylvester Turner is a pretty savvy guy, in my opinion. He may be counting on the fact that a lot of the wealthier subdivisions don’t want to put up with the level of service the city provides,” Smart said. “Most of the people here would rather continue with private pickup even if we have to pay an extra $6 a month.”