Overview
- The City Council voted Monday to distribute the $24 million settlement from Waste Pro through property tax credits rather than mailed checks, with one council member voting no.
- Under the plan 95,159 residential property holders will share the money: 57,242 owners since 2022 will receive $364 each, and most other past or newer owners will get $64 with reserved funds for special cases or previous owners who moved.
- The April settlement resolved a lawsuit the city filed in 2021 over months of missed trash pickups, with Waste Pro blaming pandemic-related staffing shortages and agreeing to a staggered payout that starts with $21 million due within 30 days.
- Mayor Shannon Martin had pushed for direct payments to affected neighbors but council and staff favored tax credits as a lower-cost administration method after staff warned mailing checks would be expensive and complex.
- Port St. Lucie switched haulers to FCC Environmental Services in 2022, and city staff say they compiled data and allocation scenarios to try to balance practical hurdles—such as homeowners who have moved—with demands for equitable remediation of the pandemic-era service failures.