Public records obtained by Times of San Diego show city leaders were days late to learn about a billing glitch that overcharged more than 43,000 residents for trash service.
On September 18, residents logged on to their local Nextdoor website after spotting higher-than-expected trash fees on their annual property tax bill.
Part-time journalist Marty Graham spotted the Nextdoor post and looked up her property tax bill. Graham’s bill was $224 higher than it should have been.
Seeing the line of trash cans outside of her Normal Heights home, Graham got to work. She jotted down the size of the trash can and the address for 100 homes down her street. She went on to the County Assessor’s website and looked up the property tax bills. Graham said 34 of the 100 were overcharged.
Graham contacted the media, including Times of San Diego, on Saturday, Sept. 19.
By Monday morning, city staff was receiving complaints from residents and media inquiries from journalists.
It wasn’t until 1:47 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 21 that the mayor’s office had to address the potential problem. That’s when Bethany Bezak — who was then Gloria’s chief performance and logistics officer, but who was named the city’s new chief operating officer last week — sent a text message to Gloria and his executive team.
“We are receiving complaints from residents and media inquiries that property taxes don’t match their selected level of service,” Bezak texted. “(So far it’s from residents logging into their online accounts). (Environmental Services) is assessing now to determine number of impacted residents, etc.”
At 5:47 p.m., Bezak sent another text message to Gloria and Paola Avila, his chief of staff, requesting a meeting with the mayor on the “trash fee issue.”
“Oh, that sounds like bad news,” Avila responded.
It was.
Approximately 87,000 property owners received errant bills, more than 44,000 of which were overcharged, some by thousands of dollars.
The Union-Tribune broke the news of the error during the afternoon of Sept. 22.
The next day, Gloria released a statement acknowledging the “glitch” and calling it “unacceptable.”
Criticism from councilmembers began pouring in, focused on whether the mayor could continue acting as the city’s chief operating officer.
“Something needs to change drastically and quickly because the city and its residents can’t afford more mistakes like this,” Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera said during a committee hearing that week.
A Gloria spokesperson said the city is ensuring all bills are corrected, and the mayor plans to issue a report on the glitch soon to prevent another similar error.
“The Mayor has been clear that this billing error was unacceptable and that residents should not be expected to pay more than the correct amount for their trash service,” the statement reads.
“Safeguards should have been in place to catch this error before incorrect amounts appeared on residents’ property tax statements,” the statement continues. “Technology and process updates are already in development. At the Mayor’s direction, a report will be issued detailing what went wrong and the steps necessary to prevent a similar error from happening again.
“The Mayor’s focus remains on ensuring affected residents receive accurate information, their bills are corrected and the City follows through on the necessary improvements.” it concludes.
