People in single-family homes in San Diego might pay less than expected for trash pickup after City Council raised a variety of concerns Monday about a proposal to charge them $47.59 per month.
Council eventually voted 6-3 to move the proposal forward to a June 9 public hearing — but they directed the city’s independent budget analyst and city staff to prepare a series of cheaper options.
The independent budget analyst presented a detailed report that said the monthly cost could be lowered to $42.72 if several proposed new services are either eliminated, modified or delayed.
Kirby Brady, the city official spearheading efforts to determine the trash fee, said Monday the council will be presented in June with a menu of options with varying prices — including the possibility of adding no new services.
Brady said her staff considers the $47.59 proposal the ideal choice because it would add just the right blend of new services. But she said backlash from the council and residents means cheaper options must be considered.
Of the 136 online comments submitted to the city in recent days, 132 opposed the $47.59 fee and four ed it, City Clerk Diana Fuentes said.
During Monday’s hearing, several city workers and labor leaders expressed , but the vast majority of residents expressed opposition.
Councilmember Raul Campillo, who was ed in opposition by Vivian Moreno and Marni von Wilpert, said he was particularly frustrated with how San Diego got into a position to start charging for trash pickup at single-family homes.
Those residents have received no-fee trash pickup for decades under a 1919 law called the People’s Ordinance, but city voters paved the way for San Diego to start charging when they approved Measure B in 2022.
Campillo said voters were misled by an analysis in their voter guides that estimated the new fee would fall somewhere between $23 and $29 a month.
“Voters absolutely depend on that information to be accurate and reliable,” Campillo said. “When the city s a dollar value, the city should not charge more, and I will not vote to charge more.”
Councilmember Henry Foster, despite voting Monday to advance the proposal, harshly criticized the independent budget analyst for making the $23-to-$29 estimate that appeared in voter guides.
“This was an unfortunate mistake,” Foster said. “I reserve my right to vote ‘no’ at the June hearing. I don’t think we did a good job of putting information in front of the voters to make an informed decision.”
The analyst for the IBA who came up with that estimate three years ago, Jordan More, said Monday that he regretted his estimate was so much lower than what city officials now propose to charge.
“Mea culpa — I am human,” More said. “There are things that were not thought of back then.”
Campillo also objected to plans to charge trash customers on their property tax bills. While that would reduce the city’s annual billing costs from an estimated $10 million to just $22,000, Campillo said it would be unfair to residents.
“If you can’t pay your electricity bill, your electricity may be turned off,” he said. “If you can’t pay your water bill, your water may be turned off. But if you can’t pay your trash fee, your home may be seized. I cannot that.”
Council President Joe LaCava said he understands the backlash and frustration. But he noted that some of the IBA’s proposals that would lower monthly bills to $42.72 would require subsidies from the city’s general fund.
“We could go lower, but lower comes at a cost,” he said. “If we go too low, we will have to cut libraries, parks and public safety — or find new revenue.”
The IBA proposal comes just after city officials lowered by about 10% the fees they are proposing.
The latest proposal is a monthly rate of $47.59 for full-service customers — down more than $5 from the initial proposal of $53 that the city announced in February.
The fee would still rise in coming years when the city adds new services such as bulky trash pickup. But instead of jumping to $65 in July 2027, the fee would rise to $59.42 at that time.
Customers willing to use smaller trash bins — 35 gallons, instead of the normal 95 gallons — would pay $36.72 per month instead of the previously proposed $42. That would rise to $45.66 in July 2027 instead of the previously planned $52.
The IBA says the council could take a series of steps to lower the initial full-service monthly rate from $47.59 to $42.72.
Those include eliminating a proposed bulky trash pickup program, nixing plans to add a crew that would quickly go to houses where a collection was missed and delaying plans to start a pilot program to shift the city’s fleet of trash trucks to electric vehicles.
Other components of the IBA proposal include using city recycling revenue to pay for some trash services, building up the new trash fund’s reserves more slowly and spreading the costs for new containers out over more years.
Monday’s vote officially launches the protest period for the proposed fees.
Under state law, the new fees can’t be imposed if more than half of the estimated 233,000 households that would pay the new fee submit protest cards before the June 9 hearing.
City officials say they will mail out protest cards to each household during the week beginning April 21.
Another decision the council is expected to make June 9 is how to handle a proposed subsidy program for seniors and low-income residents.
City officials say they will request $3 million in general fund money for such a program, but they have left the details up to the council.
The money could provide a full subsidy for about 3,500 customers, a 50% subsidy for about 7,000 customers or a 15% subsidy for about 23,000 customers.
City officials said eligibility will likely be based on enrollment in state or federal financial assistance programs, salary documentation or the inability to pay property taxes.
At the $47.59 rate, San Diego would have higher monthly trash fees than any city in Southern California except for Long Beach. But Los Angeles approved a five-year plan last week to incrementally increase its trash fees to more than $55 a month.
Most other cities in Southern California contract out trash service to private haulers such as EDCO or Waste Management.
The median monthly fee in 12 local cities surveyed by San Diego is $32, which includes monthly fees of $28 in El Cajon, $23 to $35 in Chula Vista, $28 to $31 in Carlsbad and $29 to $33 in Oceanside.
San Diego officials contend such comparisons can be misleading, stressing that trash collection is more complicated in a sprawling city that extends from San Ysidro near the U.S.-Mexico border all the way north to Rancho Bernardo.
