Overview
- The City Council voted Monday to allocate the $24 million settlement from Waste Pro to residential property owners and to apply the payments as credits on property tax bills rather than mailing checks.
- City staff established three payout tiers that give 57,242 owners who held title since 2022 $364 each and provide $64 credits for 13,241 newer owners and 24,676 prior owners with reserves and a claims window for special cases.
- The settlement requires Waste Pro to pay $21 million within roughly 30 days and two $1.5 million installments on Jan. 31, 2027 and Jan. 31, 2028, and both parties agreed to release all claims and dismiss the lawsuit.
- Council members cited cost and administrative concerns for using tax credits and voted not to use settlement money to reimburse the city for legal or other expenses.
- The payout responds to a 2021 suit over pandemic-era trash collection failures that left piles uncollected, led the city to switch to FCC Environmental Services in 2022, and has left residents asking for fair treatment of people who moved or changed ownership during the dispute.