West Bank Rip-off and Stink

Westbank Businessman Decries City Sanitation Fees

NEW ORLEANS -- A Westbank businessman said he thinks the way city sanitation fees are collected stinks.

Warren Munster said the city is charging him garbage fees at homes where no one lives. Munster owns the Old Point Bar in Algiers Point and argues that the way the city collects garbage fees is convoluted and cumbersome. He owns several apartments and commercial properties in Algiers Point that have been vacant since Hurricane Katrina.

"If your building is vacant, you shouldn't pay any garbage," Munster said. Munster said he uses a small amount of water for his garden, but officials said using any amount of water automatically tacks on a monthly sanitation fee to the water bill. "People are getting ripped off in the city with Sewerage and Water Board," said Munster.

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