SAN DIEGO \u2013 In June, the San Diego City Council authorized a trash pickup fee via the county tax roll.<\/p>\n
The fee will be included on annual County property tax bills sent to property owners eligible for the services. It will appear as a line item identified as: \u201cSD Solid Waste Mgmt Fee.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Fiscal Year 2026, the fee is $523.20, due in two equal installments of $261.60. The first installment is due by Dec. 10, and the second is due by April 10, 2026.<\/p>\n
The trash fee has been approved with increases scheduled for the next three years (July 1, 2026; July 1, 2027; and July 1, 2028). Further increases after July 1, 2028, would require additional action from the City Council. <\/p>\n
The fee increase starting in 2027 will incorporate service enhancements, including weekly recycling collection and curbside pickup of bulky items.<\/p>\n
Given its importance, Times of San Diego conducted a \u201cshout out\u201d via email and social media, soliciting public opinion on the new trash collection fee. We asked readers if they felt the fee was justified, if what was being charged was appropriate, and what they liked\/didn\u2019t like about how it\u2019s being rolled out. For those opposed to the trash fee, we asked what they felt the city could have\/should have done instead.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what they had to say:<\/p>\n
Carolyn Chase of Pacific Beach felt that transferring trash collection from the city\u2019s general fund to a fee-based system aids in paying for bloated city staff bills.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sales job was partly based on saying it would be a great move for renters. However, the many renters living in locations that were served by the city now face rent increases to cover it,\u201d Chase said. \u201cIt was\/is a golden payback to the unions that run city hall politics these days, and just part of that now includes raising any fees they can come up with.\u201d<\/p>\n
Frances O\u2019Neill Zimmerman of La Jolla responded negatively to the new trash fee. \u201cDo I like it? No,\u201d she said. \u201cWas it flawlessly executed? No. Do I have confidence that the fee posted on my property tax bill will be accurate? No.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a real simple bait and switch,\u201d said Greg Knight of Mission Beach.\u00a0\u201cPart of the vote was $28 a month. Now that reality sets in, it is almost double.\u00a0This should all go back to another vote with the \u2018real\u2019 fees attached.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fellow Mission Beach resident Lee Silber didn\u2019t like the new fee either. \u201cThe new trash fees are a financial burden, but it\u2019s more than that,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s the drip, drip, drip of added costs to live in San Diego. I can\u2019t recall the last time a fee or the cost of a service went down. So it\u2019s a cumulative thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Addressing the math involved, PB resident Ryan Stock noted: \u201cThe\u00a0median home price (here) is approximately $1.2 million.\u00a0A new homeowner purchasing at this price pays an annual property tax of about\u00a0$14,736, based on the 1.22% tax rate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cContrast this with a homeowner who purchased an identical property 40 years ago at $200,000. Even with the maximum annual assessment increase of 2% allowed under\u00a0Proposition 13, their current assessed value would be approximately $442,000, resulting in an annual property tax of about $5,429,\u201d Stock said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis means\u00a0the new homeowner is paying 3-5 times more in property taxes\u00a0than a long-standing neighbor, despite the long-term owner receiving those city benefits for all those years. This system inadvertently places a heavier financial burden on newer residents, effectively subsidizing long-standing property owners. We should not perpetuate an unfair system where newer residents shoulder a disproportionate share of the tax burden,\u201d Stock said.<\/p>\n
Of the trash fee, longtime La Jollan Melinda Merryweather\u00a0responded: \u201cIt is\u00a0so\u00a0wrong. It would take me three months to fill a container. It takes my\u00a0neighbor one week. How is that\u00a0fair? How is it possible to force me to pay this without my permission?\u201d<\/p>\n
Chris Olson of PB said voters should have read the \u201cfine print\u201d before voting yes for Measure B. \u201cDo you think voters reading the Measure B title would expect to pay $532 per year for waste management if they voted yes?\u201d he asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Janie Emerson of La Jolla Shores criticized the new trash fee as being a \u201ctotally ridiculous waste of time, money, and manpower. If they needed to track the trash pick-up, they could have put computer-readable tags on our current trash bins. Now we are being forced to use cans many of us do not need and will not fill.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bonnie Kutch of University City decried the new trash fee, insisting it\u2019s another example of the city not listening to the citizenry. \u201cThose of us who have the temerity to publicly criticize or even question the mayor and council\u2019s positions on a range of issues \u2014 destructive high-density development, the bait-and-switch trash fees, and exorbitant parking fees \u2014 are in the \u2018loathsome\u2019 caste,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur inquiries end up in the circular file. The city has become an autocracy, one where residents\u2019 input and opinions don\u2019t count. A large network of us is setting out to change that once and for all.\u201d<\/p>\n
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