ST. LOUIS - City aldermen approved a budget today that cuts widely from city departments and institutes a new trash fee.
At the same time, the board, with little discussion, passed a 12 percent water rate increase and a multimillion-dollar tax break for the downtown offices of Peabody Energy.
The water increase affects both commercial and residential users. It bumps the cost to an average homeowner by $2.67 a month, or $32 a year, and takes affect July 1. It is the third increase in three years, and a 50 percent hike since 2004.
The city's water division said
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Aldermen also passed the city's budget, .
And they sent on the trash bill for a final vote next week. It proposes a new $11-per-month trash and recycling charge.
Alderman Steve Conway, who sponsored the bill, said that, while he is not happy to charge residents for trash pickup, the city has little choice.
"There is nothing left to cut," he told the board.
