A group of concerned citizens who want to beautify the city and county have approached the comm ct. and the city council with a plan where the city and county will supply labor and equipment to private citizens to clean up lots and land in both the city and county that is unsightly(not necessarily a nuisance) in an effort to make the area more attractive. Like most small communities, many buildings and lots have fallen into disrepair and overgrown brush abounds. However, the entities do not want to assess any cost against the property owners or the land.
While I believe this is a worthwhile endeavor, I have a problem with the legality. Is the beautification of a county a legitimate public purpose sufficient to justify the expenditure of tax $ on private property? If so, doesn't that open the door to all sorts of work being done in the name of beauty? (paving driveways, Etc.) Can anyone suggest a public purpose that might fly?
Lastly, If the clean-up is undertaken in the name of pest control, rabies control etc., can the entity elect not to assess costs against the property owner or land?

Sounds like this idea may be in violation of the Texas Constitution, Article III � 52(a):
Except as otherwise provided by this section, the Legislature shall have no power to authorize any county, city, town or other political corporation or subdivision of the State to lend its credit or to grant public money or thing of value in aid of, or to any "individual".
Also raises a liability issue as to who would be lible for the actions of the volunteers and injuries to the volunteers.

I sympathize with anyone who has a beautification agenda, but I agree that county employees should not be "assigned" to clean up private property as part of their paid duties. The only exception I can think of is for state/city/county Hazmat teams who might be called on to clean up methyl-ethyl death spilled on private property.

Texas Trash Off Day is April 3 or 10. Last year, our commissioners rented roll-off dumpsters for each of the precincts. People could bring their own trash there and deposit it for free. The city and county also operated wood chippers at our rodeo arena parking lot where people could bring brush to be chipped up for compost.

I've been active in our local Keep Texas Beautiful group and been to a couple of illegal dumping/waste disposal seminars, and I've never heard of anyone using county employees to clean up private property.

Those were my thoughts as well. So far, I have not been able to devise a plan that would allow us to do the work.