A member of the New York City Council says a majority of the panel is lined up behind legislation to bar Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s administration from imposing a garbage-pickup fee on the city’s nonprofit organizations, writes The Wall Street Journal.

The fee, included in the municipal budget that came into effect Sunday, would raise an estimated $17.2-million by charging museums, churches, universities, and other tax-exempt entities for trash collection. The city sent out letters to affected groups earlier this year asking them to estimate how much waste they produce.

Councilman David Greenfield said 31 of the legislative body’s 51 members support his bill barring the fee, the imposition of which would require council approval. Council critics said they feared that the fee would disproportionately affect struggling small charities.

City Hall says the proposal aims to create an incentive to recycle and reduce the amount of trash going into landfills. “We’re working with [nonprofit] institutions and we’re with the council in coming up with a plan that will encourage recycling and be fair,” said Marc LaVorgna, a mayoral spokesman.