Evidently city council is considering raising the franchise fee on our residential trash collections from $1.10 to $4.00 per month.
Help me to understand this please.
The organization that picks up our trash is a city department. How can a city charge a franchise fee on a department that it owns?
Does that mean that we might see franchise fees slapped on top of our ambulance service, police department, fire department, tax department…heck every department the city runs?
This is not a fee, it is a tax.
This is absurd.
We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak 
They are charging a City department a franchise fee for use of City streets. Seriously.
And yes it is a totally chicken-shit way to raise taxes without raising the tax rate.
The problem with doing that though is the fee never goes away only up whereas there is a chance that the tax rate may decrease.
LikeLike
The city is deep in debt and needs more money just to do what they should already have enough to do. This will get worse in the coming years until finally the City of El Paso will be forced into bankruptcy.
This is what you get when you give prime downtown property to the city’s wealthiest families plus pay for their ballpark. $60 million dollar childrens museums, ugly artwork at airway and i-10, out of control ‘quality of life” spending, trolley’s that are literally not serving any public need, empty Brio’s with more on the way, etc.
Politicians have doomed this city to financial disaster. Escobar is leaving town, Cook tried to get back into government, Ortega and Niland left, Byrd is holding on to school board position hoping in future to get back into regular government.
You cannot spend hundreds of millions of dollars on progressive programs without having to pay for them,
LikeLiked by 2 people
“Taxation Without Representation.”
LikeLike
Exactly, John D. THEY “Represent” only themselves and whoever puts the “Campaign DONATIONS” in the back pockets. THEY have the city BILLIONS$$$$ in debt with no way to pay any of it and yet THEY keep taxing, wasting, spending. Bankruptcy and DESPERATION.
LikeLike
Let’s also not forget that the city also wants to go back to adding a tax on utilities and when they discovered the $3 million windfall CAD math was giving them this year, the City Council discussion (based on KVIA reporting) was pretty much along the lines of “it doesn’t make sense to lower the tax rate because folks won’t notice the decrease because it will be so small.” Trust me, we’ll notice. Anyone that votes yes to a raise for these useful idiots is a total fool. They are completely out of touch with the concept of fiscal responsibility or serving citizens. They just see us as funding for their pipe dreams.
LikeLike
WHO elected these people? THEY don’t represent US. THEY represent only themselves and whatever THEY can get, take from US. Not one of them should ever be elected, re-elected to anything again in El Taxo. Tax, waste, spend, tax some more. They are nothing more than blood sucking leeches on the ass of the people. WE can do better, WE deserve better.
LikeLike
The folks in El Paso who show up to vote for folks who promise to turn beans into gold elected them. Start educating your friends and family and urge them to vote against incumbents or anyone using phrases like EP deserves, for the children, 21st century thinking, destination city….and all the other garbage phrases used to convince us spending money is magically going to turn us into Phoenix or San Francisco. Follow the money and don’t vote for the ones big donors love. Yes, our movers and shakers contribute widely, but they usually have favorites. Avoid voting for folks whose income stream has come from the public sector. They are way too used to living on your dime and don’t see big government as a bad thing.
LikeLike
Exactly. There are few to no good choices when it comes to voting in El Taxo. Just the same career politicians moving chair to chair, office to office and still doing NOTHING to BENEFIT the PEOPLE. Vote for the Democrat, Liberal of your “Choice”. Mayor, City Council, Sheriff, Commissioners, Judges, etc. The only “Choice” really is trying to vote for the person who is not as BAD as all the others. “I know that name. He, she has always lived here. My Momma knows her, my Dad knows him, so…………”. There are some exceptions, sometimes to the “Bad, worse” concept, but they can never get elected in El Paso.
LikeLike
Brutus says “we deserve better” and I would vote for him.
LikeLike
Remember the “Boston Tea Party” was not about tea but TAXES.
If you are over 65, your house is paid for and you have no inheritance plans go to the CAD and sign the forms to stop paying all city, county, hospital taxes.
LikeLike
Really, that’s possible? Think they tax us as long as they can, as much as they can get away with. Can’t swear that even school taxes were “Frozen”. No kids in school for 15 years. 80% Disabled Vet, over 70. Seems like I still get all the tax INCREASES they can do.
LikeLike
I don’t think you can stop paying taxes. That info is wrong.
LikeLike
Actually I’m not sure it applies universally to over 65, but disabled veterans or their widowed spouses can stop paying taxes. The city gets your house when you die because penalties and interest plus taxes are due, but you can stay in your home until you die. Texas psssed that law about 15 years ago. You would not be able to sell your house once you started doing that without paying the tax bill owed, but it is an option.
LikeLike