Here's something you might be interested in.
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed
Big Screen — Movie commentary
Blurt — Music's inside track
Booze News — San Diego spirits
Classical Music — Immortal beauty
Classifieds — Free and easy
Cover Stories — Front-page features
Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes
Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts
Feast! — Food & drink reviews
Feature Stories — Local news & stories
Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore
From the Archives — Spotlight on the past
Golden Dreams — Talk of the town
The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it
Letters — Our inbox
Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites
Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans
Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists
Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news
News Ticker — News & politics
Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated
Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna
Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated
Poetry — The old and the new
Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers
Reading — The hunt for intellectuals
Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails
San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds
SD on the QT — Almost factual news
Sheep and Goats — Places of worship
Special Issues — The best of
Street Style — San Diego streets have style
Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves
Theater — On stage in San Diego this week
Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative
Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work
Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego
Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads
Your Week — Daily event picks
El Cajon places fewer property liens for unpaid trash bills
Waning of the pandemic
As they've done for years, El Cajon is moving to place liens on homes that are at least two months behind on their refuse, collection and recycling charges.
Although it's been routine practice in El Cajon since 1996, when mandatory trash service began for all single-family homes, for some it's still a burden.
The lien process only applies to the city's 14,000 single family accounts. In some cases, the property is rented out - and a tenant has skipped out. Under the city's ordinance, the legal owner of the property is responsible for the bill.
But the pandemic left many tenants unable to pay rent, let alone bills.
"I have a tenant who owes me over $10,000," said property owner Maxim Moya last May, during another public hearing on the topic. The rental agreement made the tenant responsible for bills, and Moya, who never signed a contract with Waste Management, was stunned when the company filed a lien against him.
"Do you think that's fair?"
One thing has changed, though. The city has greatly whittled down the number of residential accounts with unpaid trash fees.
In January, 2021, the city hired a new franchise hauler, EDCO, replacing Waste Management. As before, the hauler bills each customer directly, with the city assisting "as needed" by sending unpaid amounts to the owners' property tax bill, then remitting the money collected to the hauler.
The city typically holds about three lien hearings per year.
According to staff, in 2017, there were 478 delinquent accounts, owing a total of $71,670. In 2021, the first full year working with EDCO, there were only 124, totaling $37,158.
The city considers some of the reduction to the waning of the pandemic, with people returning to work and better able to catch up on bills. But they also see a year-long outreach effort by EDCO as having helped, everything from follow up calls to tags placed on bins.
Being local, head-quartered in Lemon Grove, is a plus. In addition, the residential rate hasn't gone up much, council member Steve Goble noted at last week's hearing.
Deputy mayor Michelle Metschel asked what happens to residents if a lien is placed on their property.
Mike James, deputy director for public works, said the first step is figuring out what's owed. There are fees on top of the lien amount; a 10 percent city fee for a delinquent account, as well as the city clerk and county recording fees. After determining the amount, the liens are recorded.
Metschel said some of the bills are over $400. "And if that doesn't get paid, can they lose their property if they don't pay their garbage fee?"
James said the amount goes on to their property tax bill, and if they don't pay that after four or five years, then they become delinquent on their property tax. At that point, the county can sell the property, and the city would get its portion of the amount back.
Here's something you might be interested in.
El Cajon places fewer property liens for unpaid trash bills
Waning of the pandemic
El Cajon places fewer property liens for unpaid trash bills
Waning of the pandemic
As they've done for years, El Cajon is moving to place liens on homes that are at least two months behind on their refuse, collection and recycling charges.
Although it's been routine practice in El Cajon since 1996, when mandatory trash service began for all single-family homes, for some it's still a burden.
The lien process only applies to the city's 14,000 single family accounts. In some cases, the property is rented out - and a tenant has skipped out. Under the city's ordinance, the legal owner of the property is responsible for the bill.
But the pandemic left many tenants unable to pay rent, let alone bills.
"I have a tenant who owes me over $10,000," said property owner Maxim Moya last May, during another public hearing on the topic. The rental agreement made the tenant responsible for bills, and Moya, who never signed a contract with Waste Management, was stunned when the company filed a lien against him.
"Do you think that's fair?"
One thing has changed, though. The city has greatly whittled down the number of residential accounts with unpaid trash fees.
In January, 2021, the city hired a new franchise hauler, EDCO, replacing Waste Management. As before, the hauler bills each customer directly, with the city assisting "as needed" by sending unpaid amounts to the owners' property tax bill, then remitting the money collected to the hauler.
The city typically holds about three lien hearings per year.
According to staff, in 2017, there were 478 delinquent accounts, owing a total of $71,670. In 2021, the first full year working with EDCO, there were only 124, totaling $37,158.
The city considers some of the reduction to the waning of the pandemic, with people returning to work and better able to catch up on bills. But they also see a year-long outreach effort by EDCO as having helped, everything from follow up calls to tags placed on bins.
Being local, head-quartered in Lemon Grove, is a plus. In addition, the residential rate hasn't gone up much, council member Steve Goble noted at last week's hearing.
Deputy mayor Michelle Metschel asked what happens to residents if a lien is placed on their property.
Mike James, deputy director for public works, said the first step is figuring out what's owed. There are fees on top of the lien amount; a 10 percent city fee for a delinquent account, as well as the city clerk and county recording fees. After determining the amount, the liens are recorded.
Metschel said some of the bills are over $400. "And if that doesn't get paid, can they lose their property if they don't pay their garbage fee?"
James said the amount goes on to their property tax bill, and if they don't pay that after four or five years, then they become delinquent on their property tax. At that point, the county can sell the property, and the city would get its portion of the amount back.
Comments