Council delays vote on monthly garbage fee
City Council on Wednesday delayed a vote until next week on a proposed $1.14 monthly fee for residential garbage and recycling bins in Houston.
Councilwoman Abbie Kamin tagged the measure, pushing it to next week, saying she wanted more time to talk to constituents about the measure.
If approved, the proposed monthly fee — called a lease by the Sylvester Turner administration — would start appearing on water bills in July. It is estimated the fee would result in an additional $421,200 per month, or about $5 million a year, for the Solid Waste Management Department.
Houston is the only major Texas city without a garbage fee.
The proposal inspired a lengthy debate around the council table despite the delayed vote. Mayor Turner and other city leaders took pains to emphasize the proposed charge is not a garbage collection fee. The revenue would be devoted to keeping the city’s stock of containers, not upgrading services, they said.
“I think it’s only fair and reasonable for us to recoup the cost of these bins,” Turner said.
The move comes as Houston leaders prepare to confront a ballooning budget gap that Turner has said could reach $200 million in the fiscal year that begins
July 1.
There is some opposition to the fee on the 16-member council. Amy Peck, who represents District A, said the city is not giving bins away for free, instead using residents’ tax dollars to buy them.
At-Large Councilman Mike Knox said the fee effectively is a tax, since residents cannot choose to get bins elsewhere once the lease is imposed. District J Councilman Edward Pollard said the city is asking taxpayers for more money at a time when every dollar counts.
“Just like we’re operating under a revenue cap, the average Houstonian is operating under a revenue cap,” Pollard said. “They’re struggling out there right now.”
The mayor suggested council members give up their district service dollars if they want to avoid the fee. Each district council member gets roughly $750,000 a year to spend in their districts.
The Solid Waste Management Department serves about 390,000 customers with a total of about 780,000 containers. It says it has devoted about $1 million a year to replacing the containers since 2006.