![\"Marty](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/SUT-L-trash-bills-001.jpg\")
Marty Graham, Pamela Brock and Larry Halford pose for a photo on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Meg McLaughlin \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\nMany thousands of San Diego residents are being dramatically overcharged for trash service on recently arrived property tax bills, thanks to a technical glitch in data that city officials gave to the county tax collector.<\/p>\n
City officials say they are scrambling to assess the exact scope\u00a0of the problem, notify every overcharged customer and figure out how to handle refunds before their property taxes are due Nov. 1.<\/p>\n
Angry and frustrated residents are sharing their stories on websites like NextDoor and in interviews. Many say they\u2019ve spent hours on hold while calling the city and county for information.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis kind of mistake makes life harder for people who don\u2019t have a lot of money \u2014 seniors like me who can no longer work, people who are caring for a very sick partner or those in low-paying professions,\u201d said Normal Heights resident Marty Graham, who is being charged $534 instead of $311.<\/p>\n
Marty Graham, Pamela Brock and Larry Halford pose for a photo on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Meg McLaughlin \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n
Others are facing even steeper overcharges, some as much as triple what they owe. One common mistake caused by the glitch is charging customers whose bill should be $534 nearly three times that amount \u2014 $1,590.<\/p>\n
Trash customers with \u201cimpound\u201d mortgage accounts might be particularly affected by any delay in bills getting corrected by the city and county.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s because when San Diego began charging for trash service last year, officials decided<\/a> to use property tax bills in order to avoid spending millions to create a city trash billing department.<\/p>\n When property tax bills arrive each fall, lenders handling impound accounts divide the annual property tax bill into 12 equal installments and add it to monthly mortgage payments.<\/p>\n \u201cThe crux of the problem is that these errors ended up on my tax bill, and my mortgage company will insist I pay in full,\u201d Graham said. \u201cNot paying the full amount puts me and other borrowers in default.\u201d<\/p>\n Graham said an analysis by her and some neighbors suggested\u00a0that roughly one-third of city trash customers could be getting\u00a0overcharged because of the glitch.<\/p>\n If correct, that would mean nearly 75,000 of the city\u2019s roughly 220,000 trash customers are being\u00a0overcharged and will need either a corrected tax bill or a refund.<\/p>\n City officials are taking the full blame for the error, telling The San Diego Union-Tribune\u00a0in a prepared statement that \u201cthe error happened in the transmission of the file to the county.\u201d<\/p>\n The city is asking customers not to file a billing dispute but instead wait to be contacted by the city.<\/p>\n \u201cThe city is aware of a technical error that resulted in incorrect figures appearing on the Solid Waste Management Fee line item of some customers\u2019 county property online tax statements for fiscal year 2027,\u201d the prepared statement says. \u201cThe city will communicate with impacted customers and is working closely with the county to correct the error.\u201d<\/p>\n Because some property bills haven\u2019t yet been mailed, the error could be corrected before some customers get a paper copy of their bill. But the county\u2019s online billing portal reflects the incorrect amounts for customers who have been overcharged.<\/p>\n City officials are urging customers to go to the city\u2019s trash billing website, wasteportal.sandiego.gov<\/a>, and check what they owe. City officials say these numbers are correct.<\/p>\n Then customers can go to the county tax collector\u2019s website, sdttc.com<\/a>, and see whether the amounts match up. If they don\u2019t match up, customers don\u2019t need to take any action. The city will contact them\u00a0to handle refunds.<\/p>\n \u201cThis billing issue only impacts the county property tax line item,\u201d the city said in its statement. \u201cCustomer accounts in the City\u2019s Residential Waste Collection Services Portal are accurate. Customers are encouraged to create an account, if they haven\u2019t already, to view their trash fee.\u201d<\/p>\n But only about half of the city\u2019s 220,000 customers have created such accounts. Anybody who hasn\u2019t created such an account will need to create one to check.<\/p>\n While property taxes are technically due Nov. 1, they don\u2019t become delinquent until Dec. 10.<\/p>\n North Park resident Bob LaRose, who is being charged $1,026 instead of the correct amount of $324, said the glitch is just the latest controversy over city trash fees, which began last year thanks to a successful 2022 ballot measure that let the city start charging for the service.<\/p>\n Only single-family homes and multifamily properties with four units or fewer are eligible for city service. Other city households must hire private haulers. The effort to determine who is eligible for city service \u2014 and to then help ineligible customers<\/a> secure private service \u2014 was rocky.<\/p>\n