Council committee votes to kill $500 biz-trash fee

Last May, City Council approved - and then quickly regretted - a $500 annual fee for businesses that have their trash picked up by the Department of Streets.

But attempts by Councilman Frank DiCicco to address those concerns were met with silence this summer from the Nutter administration. So, add that to the pile of fractious issues now causing friction for Nutter with friends and foes on Council.

DiCicco, chairman of Council's Committee on Streets and Services, introduced legislation Sept. 17 to repeal the trash fee. That committee held a hearing on the issue yesterday, during which Streets Commissioner Clarena Tolson testified for the Nutter administration and requested that no action be taken.

Council members were not in the mood, voting unanimously to approve DiCicco's bill.

Councilman Jim Kenney, like DiCicco a longtime but now frustrated Nutter ally, sat in on the hearing, even though he is not a member of the committee. He urged a vote so that the issue would not be "lost in Delay-land."

"I just think that things will get done if there is a pending piece of legislation," Kenney added.

Councilman Bill Green, a frequent Nutter critic, pressed Tolson for an explanation for the lack of action over the summer.

"Were you instructed to not work with Councilman DiCicco?" Green asked Tolson.

Tolson said that she was busy with budget issues during that time but ultimately did not answer the question, responding instead: "I think that you're asking me for an answer that I don't have to give."

Green backed off, warning that Council would start requiring administration officials to answer the question if delays persist.

Mayor Nutter said before the hearing that he met with DiCicco last week on the issue and expects to continue working with Council.

The $500 fee is expected to raise $7 million from 15,000 businesses getting trash service.

"It's revenue we've counted on in our budget and five-year plan," Nutter said. "It has serious financial implications."

The city is ready to start collecting the fee, but Tolson said that her department would wait while the administration works with Council.

DiCicco and others expressed concerns about the impact of a new $500 fee on mostly small businesses. DiCicco noted that buildings with six or fewer apartments, but no commercial or retail space, are exempt. He would like to include those properties, increasing the number of businesses that would pay the fee as a way of reducing the $500 cost.

Tolson agreed to consider that and other ideas.

With the committee's vote yesterday, Council could give final approval by Oct. 29 to the legislation to kill the trash fee.

DiCicco said that that gives Nutter's staff 2 1/2 weeks to come up with the numbers on how including small apartment buildings would affect the trash fee.

It also serves notice that Council is tired of waiting for Nutter.

"It's a simple thing," DiCicco said. "We need the $7 million. How do we get to the $7 million?"

Staff writer Catherine Lucey contributed to this report.