The Raleigh City Council held its regular meeting on April 15, 2025, at 1:00 PM in the City Council Chamber. The meeting included a consent agenda, public comments, planning commission reports, a major tolling study update for Capital Boulevard, approval of $17.28 million in affordable housing funding, and several rezoning decisions. The council also heard public input on the FY 2026-30 Consolidated Plan and numerous other items.
I couldn't even have the thing that you want to do. I think we can open it with you. Oh, no, no. Let's go to the code game. So that's funny. All right, welcome everybody to the City Council meeting. First item of business, as always, is the Pledge of Allegiance, and I'll ask Councillor Silver to lead us. The United States of America. And City Republic or which stands? One nation under God. Liberty and Justice. Next we had the consent agenda, and I believe there was one item pulled. Yes. Thank you so much. This is for Solid Waste Services. I have a few questions just on the change that's being discussed here. I'll just start. How are you, Mr. Jenkins? I got to watch uh the videos uh because I was absent last week, so you were there present. So it was nice to hear you over the over my break. But nice to see you today. Um on page two and three, it discusses removing city manager and counsel from the appeals process for residents on doing uh dealing with administrative fees. How many times, how many times has a case gone that far to come to us? So over the last year, well, mayor, council, city manager, Gregory Jenkins, the second interim director of Solid Waste. Uh over the last uh year, we've had two to four complaints. Out of those, three of them were around this for the same property. And I don't believe any of those, at least over the time I've been in room, have made it up to the city manager's office. So I was just wondering what is the purpose of removing that option if we don't really ever see it. Well, um, mainly because as we have transitioned that over to an administrative fee, uh, that's more consistent with how our practices are. It stays in house, it doesn't come up to the city manager or council level. Right. And we are raising those fees. Can you tell me what the fee was and then what the current fee will be after this is? I believe the current the past fee was $250. And I believe the current I don't try to get that in time. I think there are different levels. Uh $500. So we were doubling the fees from $250 to $500. Okay. And then page three also removes the solid waste collection design manual. That doesn't mean we don't have one, it just means it's removing it from what one is I think uh we're right now, we're working with planning on trying to updating and figuring out a better way to keep it up with some of the zoning changes that are going on. And so currently we're kind of tired without doing special exceptions. This would just give us more flexibility and start focusing on the long term uh what we need to have. But yes, we do still have it. It's just more of an administrative tool. Got it. And then can you speak to the number of incidents of trash burning that has occurred to warrant the addition of Solid Waste to the code? Because we are uh removing the fire chief from that option. Right.