San Marcos residents and business owners may start noticing new charges on their utility bills next year.
On Dec. 1, City Council approved a $1 and $5 monthly charge for city residents and businesses, respectively, to be used for beautification of the community. The charge, known as the Clean Community Fee, is expected to generate about $375,000 in its first year.
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City Manager Jared Miller said there are many areas throughout the city that could be addressed through the Clean Community Fee, including downtown and the development hubs laid out in the city’s comprehensive master plan.
“There will be an evolutionary aspect to this as we grow and as the city grows, and as the revenue grows in this, there are a lot of things we need to do and should do if we’re going to be a city that pops,” he said.
Council Member John Thomaides said he hoped the city would be able to direct funding toward projects that will catch the community’s eye and show residents and business owners how their money is being used.
City Finance Director Heather Hurlburt agreed.
“I think we can do that, definitely,” Hurlburt said. “We can identify those projects that are going to bring a lot of bang for our buck and go ahead and get those started.”
City staff will put together a list of potential projects to focus on in the program’s first year. That list will be brought to council for approval in early 2016.
Hurlburt said she believes the city will be able to start adding the fee to bills by February.
“I think these are things the community expects, and they want for sure,” Miller said. “It’s just a challenge to find the resources to do it, and I think this is a great way to do it.”
Clean Community Fee
Uses of the Clean Community Fee include, but are not limited to, the following purposes:
- enhanced mowing and landscaping including median landscaping and maintenance;
- enhanced trash pick-up and bulky waste pick-up across the city;
- additional street cleaning;
- building, façade, and signage improvement grant programs;
- downtown enhancement;
- awareness and educational programs and events;
- additional graffiti removal;
- dead animal removal.
