HOUSTON \u2013 Houston City Council is set to take a final vote Wednesday on Mayor John Whitmire\u2019s proposed $7.5 billion budget \u2014 and one item is getting a lot of attention.<\/p>\n
A proposed $5 monthly trash administrative fee would mark a first for Houston. The city has never charged residents directly for trash pickup before.<\/p>\n
City officials say the fee is about shoring up the budget and keeping city services funded. If approved, it\u2019s estimated to bring in between $24 million and $25 million a year. <\/p>\n
Officials say the money would help get public works employees in place to pick up trash and get all five solid waste collection centers up and running. Right now, only two are operational.<\/p>\n
Under the plan, the fee would stay at $5 for two years, then increase by $5 each year after that \u2014 reaching $25 per month by fiscal year 2032.<\/p>\n
Wondering what it would look like on your bill? The solid waste cart fee line on your water bill would be renamed \u201cSolid Waste Cart and Administrative Fee,\u201d with a new total of $6.29 \u2014 combining the current $1.29 cart fee with the proposed $5 charge.<\/p>\n
While city council members will have the final say Wednesday, it\u2019s everyday residents who will feel the impact most.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m on disability, limited income \u2014 I have to watch my pennies, so I think it will affect me,\u201d said Rosario Escobedo, a Houston resident.<\/p>\n
Maria Rodriguez, who lives in Denver Harbor, says she\u2019s been paying close attention to the proposed fee.<\/p>\n
\u201c$5 is $5 \u2014 it\u2019s not much, but it adds and adds and adds when rates are still going up,\u201d Rodriguez said.<\/p>\n
The debate has also played out on social media since news of the proposal first broke. Some residents say they\u2019re OK with the fee if it helps crack down on illegal dumping. Others are asking a more pointed question \u2014 will paying more actually mean better trash service?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s worth noting that Houston is currently the only major city in Texas that does not charge a monthly solid waste fee. In San Antonio, residents pay between $19 and $35 a month. Dallas residents pay $40. In nearby cities like Pasadena, Sugar Land and League City, the monthly fee tops $20.<\/p>\n
As for where the mayor stands, a spokesperson for Whitmire\u2019s office told KPRC 2 the mayor is confident he has the support he needs to pass the budget.<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOUSTON \u2013 Houston City Council is set to take a final vote Wednesday on Mayor John Whitmire\u2019s proposed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":328433,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[117342,56,58,57,3743,66,223,4990],"class_list":["post-328432","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-garbage-pick-up","tag-houston","tag-houston-headlines","tag-houston-news","tag-john-whitmire","tag-local","tag-news","tag-trash"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328432","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=328432"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328432\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/328433"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=328432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=328432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=328432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}