Trash cans... they are not pretty but they're a necessity. Residents in the City of Anderson said some people never put their cans away after trash pick up. Those people may soon face a fine.
"You've got some trash cans that stay out all week... You know, and I call it just lazy," said Jerry Norris. Norris is an Anderson resident, and takes great pride in his home, and has two city trash cans.
But on Monday on Norris' street alone, there were three trash cans left outside and he says trash pick up was on Friday. That is why city officials want to do something about it.
"Residents are complaining about it impeding traffic down the sidewalks and you know it just makes our neighborhood real bad," said Tony Stewart and Anderson City council member.
For the past 90 days, city officials said at their Monday meeting, they took a survey and found that 17 percent of their 99 hundred cans were left out for 48 hours after trash pick up. So now their considering fining residents.
"If you repeatedly, first, second and third time you do not pull your cart back onto your property then there's an enforcement process," said a member of council.
Residents would receive a warning the first time they are cited. The second citation would be for 10 dollars, and the third fine would be for 25 dollars. If you are cited after three times, the fine could reach 500 dollars and 30 days in jail.
The city is considering adding the fines to water bills and one council member Stewart who has many elderly residents in his district doesn't agree.
"$10 a week possibly for a fine is a lot and that's some decisions I don't think residents should have to make...whether they get their water cut off because their trash didn't get taken out to the curb at a proper time or not," said Stewart.
The next reading of the proposal will be held on the fourth Monday of the month at City Hall in Anderson.