Money Spent On Artsy Trash Cans Upsets Some Residents

A plan to spend thousands of tax dollars on artistic trash cans is raising some eyebrows.

The city is paying an artist over $14,000 to make 12 tiled trash cans to put up this summer along Central Avenue.

Some say that in a struggling economy, the money should be spent elsewhere.

“I can understand some people thinking, ‘Yeah, art deco – that's fine and dandy, but priorities!’ We’ve got to start thinking more about our people,” said resident Robert Reddick.

Funding for the trash cans, as well as a series of painted murals, comes from the city's public arts fund, which sets aside 1 percent of the cost of construction projects for public art.