- Rebuilding Commission Reports Urgent Need To Prepare for Future Natural Disasters on Gulf Coast [Houston Public Media]
- Houston Developers Settle Fraud Case for Improper Use of Funds [Houston Chronicle]
- Homebuilder K. Hovnanian Considers 15-Acre Development in South Houston [HBJ ($)]
- Parents Cheer as HISD Trustees Vote 5-4 Against Charter School “Transfer†Proposal [abc13]
- Austin-Based Dine-In Movie Theatre Chain Joins New Woodlands Retail Development [HBJ]
- Floyd’s 99 Barbershop Joins Heights Waterworks Redevelopment on 19th [Houston Chronicle]
- Developers Cautiously Optimistic About Downtown Opportunity Zones, Consider Flipping Vacant Office Buildings into Apartments or Hotels [Bisnow]
- City Council Member Proposes Flat Monthly Garbage Collection Fee To Cover Firefighter Raises [Houston Public Media]
- Gensler Designs 2-Story, 130k Sq. Ft. River Oaks Surgical Center with Room for Retail Downstairs [HBJ ($); previously on Swamplot]
Photo of The Galleria Christmas Tree: Marc Longoria via Swamplot Flickr Pool
Headlines
Very sad about charter school decision. Uninformed emotion in defiance of empiric evidence to the contrary.
We already pay dearly for garbage pickup. It’s called taxes. Real Estate taxes in Houston are ridiculously high. What’s more by charging for garbage pick-up, you encourage people who can’t or won’t pay the fee to illegally dump their garbage either in other people’s bins or in a vacant lot somewhere. Perhaps the people who voted for huge increase for fire fighters knowing the City didn’t have the funds would like to step up and volunteer to pay this.
Re: HISD – Did I read that article correctly?
“The parents said this is separation and segregation of black and brown children.”
You’ve got to be sh**ing me, District D Dwight Boykins. Here’s a solution for ya, and feel free to present it under your name at the next City Council meeting: Everyone in District D who voted Yes on Prop B will be required to pay $24-40/month for trash pickup. Everyone who voted No can continue to count on their monthly/yearly tax bills levied and collected by HCAD/Harris County to pay for said service.
Bravo, 2 cents!
And to the misguided City Council member, garbage pickup was likely argued in the past as a reason to raise the current taxes/fees the people already pay. It costs money so I am sure that it has come up long before this ignorant statement was uttered. I don’t have the time to research city records to find it but I am sure someone could in the archives.
I have a feeling this is more of using Prop B as an excuse to position for dedicated funding for a certain department: “Those revenues would then become part of a protected enterprise fund strictly for solid waste management,†Boykins says
If we’re throwing open the doors to ideas, we could charge the firefighter households $100/month (payroll deduction) for their garbage flat-fee. Then, use those funds to pay them their raise. When they earn more, charge them more. Self funding at its purest.
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Of course, those that live outside the city limits will be paying for something not used but maybe this will be an incentive for them to live in the city that also pays their salary.
I thought Tony Buzbee got that fire department thing worked out?
I am glad that HISD will not pursue the partnership thing solely because there was nothing to pursue. The mayor’s attempt to put together something was too little too late. But I am bothered that those who worked so hard to defeat any sort of partnership or charter have not stepped up with any proposal on how to move forward. As best I can tell, the people organized against partnerships/charters are just accelerationists and hope that a TEA takeover makes things so bad that the Legislature will have to do something.
nmj, I don’t think they’re that smart or that stupid.