The Edinburg City Council has approved a resolution supporting legislation that would create a mandatory Hidalgo County Sanitation Program and reduce the cost to the county’s taxpayers.
The solid waste disposal services program would serve the unincorporated areas of the county and in the extraterritorial jurisdictions of cities that are not being served.
Currently, the city provides sanitation services to a portion of its ETJ, but not all areas. The resolution does not authorize Hidalgo County to create a program. It only communicates to the Texas Legislature that the city supports the county’s proposed legislation.
Hidalgo County’s current sanitation model costs its taxpayers more than $8 million annually, according to the resolution.
Sanitation fees would be collected via utility billing with reasonable penalties not exceeding 10% of the service fee, according to the resolution.
Hidalgo County managing consultant Mike Perez presented the item to the city council during its March 7 meeting.
“I grew up between Alamo and Donna,” Perez said. “We had cows. We had a couple of pigs. We had a sheep. It is not that anymore. The county is approving 100 lots a month and cities can no longer annex, as [of] about 10 years ago. The subdivider and the property owner have to ask [cities] to annex.
“In the past, just like the subdivision that you’re talking about, we would put [residents] inside the city and we would take care of it. Now, you have all these subdivisions.”
Residents who live within municipalities have access to curbside trash collection but many of those in unincorporated areas do not, according to the documents in the agenda packet.
“There’s about 68,000 residents in the unincorporated area,” Perez said. “Out of those 68,000, about 20% [to] 24% are being serviced by private haulers to pick up garbage. The county is spending about $8 million.”
The program will help the county in response to urbanization as the current sanitation model is inefficient and costs are expected to increase, according to documents in the agenda packet.
“Now, we have a couple of issues,” Perez said. “… First, is that the garbage, they’re dumping it in the drainage ditches and clogging up the drains. They’re leaving it at the end of the subdivision; they’re taking it into town and leaving it in the commercial dumpsters. Some of them are throwing it in the irrigation canal, which is affecting the water. It’s a health issue.”
The matter also raises a fairness issue as 70% of the taxes collected by the county are paid by residents and property owners within the city. So, as Perez said, about $5.6 million is being subsidized by cities, residents and business owners.
The bill would grant all areas in the county the same level of sanitation services. It will not be a tax, and it will allow residents to pick their service provider by ensuring that small businesses can have an opportunity in a competitive market, according to documents in the agenda packet.
The program will be similar to what the city currently provides, which is once-a-week garbage collection and a 96-gallon container.
Edinburg Mayor Pro Tem David White asked about burn barrels, to which Perez replied that residents will probably still have burn permits.
Perez also said there have been four public hearings for the program and that people have complained about trash burning.
Twenty-one other municipalities, from Sullivan City to La Villa, have been informed about the resolution.
