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Andrew Keatts

Andrew Keatts

General manager & editor

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Councilmembers trash Mayor Gloria over garbage fee error that overcharged 87,000 households

It’s not every day that a city councilmember calls for the mayor to resign, but that’s what happened yesterday.

Officials acknowledged Wednesday that an administrative error caused the city to overcharge up to 87,000 households on their mortgage for the already-unpopular garbage collection fee — in some cases by thousands of dollars.

City and county staffers are now racing to unwind the mistake before residents pay the wrong amount, just by making their mortgage payment.

“San Diegans expect their city government to be accurate and accountable,” Mayor Todd Gloria said in a statement. “When we fall short, my responsibility is to acknowledge it, correct it, and make sure it does not happen again.”

But that contrition was not enough for councilmembers during a budget review hearing Wednesday. Their criticism of Gloria was unusually harsh and pointed — in one case in particular.

Councilmember Henry Foster III said the city continually makes mistakes that speak to the mayor’s basic competency.

“The mayor needs to look at himself in the mirror and do what’s right by the residents,” he said. “Mayor Gloria needs to do the right thing for the residents of San Diego and step down.”

Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera did not call for the mayor’s resignation, but agreed that “something needs to change drastically and quickly because the city and its residents can’t afford more mistakes like this.”

He said the city needs someone who has only one job, which is assuring basic administrative competence.

Gloria, remember, eliminated the city’s position of chief operating officer — the top bureaucrat in city hall, essentially the current version of a city manager — in early 2025, and installed himself in the role.

Councilmember Kent Lee said the city council needs to figure out how this happened, and the mayor needs to “put his house in order.”

“This is one of the reasons I have continually called for the mayor to restore the position of chief operating officer — because the city needs professional and competent organizational leadership of its departments,” he said in a statement.

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