BIG SPRING, Texas — When you do something nice for your town, you do it because you want to. You don't expect a reward, but you also don't expect it to be costly either.
That is why Big Spring is considering a "Good Samaritan Ordinance." This idea came after a man wanted to help clean up a part of town but was told he would have to pay to haul off the trash.
NewsWest 9 spoke to Shannon Thomason, the Mayor of Big Spring. He said he wants to encourage good citizens in taking the initiative to help clean up the town and not charge them for it.
"We had a gentleman here in town who was looking at cleaning some illegal dumping but was being charged for the dumping fees," said Thomason. "He posted about it on Facebook, so I knew there had to be a way to basically forgive those fees if someone is doing something for the public benefit or public good."
Thomason said the ordinance would allow the city manager to waive certain fees if they help out the city.
"If it passed the council, we will have the city manager look at the project, if somebody wanted to do something," said Thomason. "They would have to bring it to the city manager and he looks at it. Quite frankly also to make sure no one is taking advantage of the program."
The mayor hopes the ordinance helps the community in more ways than one.
"This could also be used for rescue fees at the animal shelter," said Thomason. "The shelter is getting crowded and we need to clear out some space at times. The city manager can waive tagging fees for animal rescues rather than having to euthanize them."
Overall city leaders hope this promotes a safer and cleaner environment for the city.
"Other than health and public safety issues, we want our city to make a good presentation for visitors and potential businesses that want to locate here," said Thomason. "You know who wouldn't want a clean city?"
The mayor hopes this ordinance is scheduled to be in the next city council meeting. NewsWest 9 reached out to the city manager for comment but have not heard back.