Letter to City of San Diego & Mayor Todd Gloria
By Shannon Greenlee
My April property tax bill increased by over $500 due to the added trash fee — and that’s only one of two annual payments.
If I refuse to pay the portion related to the trash fee increase (more than $1,000 total), I face penalties and even the risk of losing my home.
This is unacceptable.
City of San Diego and Mayor Todd Gloria — I’m on a fixed income. Between this and the new parking fees at Balboa Park, you are asking long-time residents like me, a senior and third-generation San Diegan, to bear the cost of your poor financial decisions.
Additionally, my property taxes include funding for neighborhood lighting, which I understand is meant for maintaining streetlights. Yet the historic lamps in Loma Portal have been shut off for over a year, leaving our neighborhood dark and unsafe. If these funds are being collected, where are they going?
The cost of the trash fees is clearly shown on this website and is not $1000/year:
https://www.sandiego.gov/environmental-services/trash-service-updates/fee-calculator
You either have more than 3 cans, or you are not taking into account the annual increase in property taxes.
Either way, you have received >60 years worth of free trash pickup during which time condo owners, often paying higher property taxes, paid for their trash. How was that fair?
Either way, you have received >60 years worth of free trash pickup during which time condo owners, often paying higher property taxes, paid for their trash. How was that fair?
What if they just bought their home within the past few years and didn’t get 60 years?
Secondly, condo owners paying higher taxes is a red herring. Considering when you bought and for how much doesn’t mean condo owners were in an unfair situation.
You could have said, ($523.20 annually) for 95-gallon bins. While often added to property tax bills as an annual charge, and not been so toxic.
The discrepancy between condo owners and single family homes needed to be fixed. It was completely unfair and not a single person has provided a good argument why condo owners did not deserve free trash service as well.
I would argue that if we repeal the trash fees, it should now apply to every residential building, not just single family homes. How many would vote for that when they understand the financial implications it would have for the city? Would you?
And sure, purchase price matters, but I am sure you will agree that many 3rd generation SD resident pay a lower property tax than the average condo owner.