File photo
File photo
After a few weeks of delay, the Houston City Council approved a $1.14 monthly garbage bin fee intended to help bridge the budget gap.
Houstonians will see the fee assessed on their water bills starting on July 1. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said it is expected to rake in an estimated $5 million per year.
With the COVID-19 pandemic prompting a number of city staff to take furloughs, the bin fee could alleviate the need for more layoffs, according to the mayor.
“You see the trucks that break down, and you see the work and the long hours they put in, and even though there is a certain number of people who don’t want me to support this, I'm getting more calls from people who do,” Councilman Jerry Davis told Community Impact Newspaper.
Council members who opposed the fee said it put low-income Houstonians at a disadvantage.
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