The Calimesa City Council took a unanimous vote July 20 to approve placing delinquent refuse collection fees onto the property tax roll following a public hearing where residents questioned mandatory trash service and disputed charges on vacant properties.
The annual hearing allows the city to confirm a list of unpaid CR&R refuse collection accounts that may be collected through special assessments on property taxes, as permitted under the Calimesa Municipal Code. According to city staff, CR&R’s current delinquency list includes 145 accounts. Property owners who make payment arrangements before the list is submitted to Riverside County will be removed from the assessment roll.
City Clerk Darlene Gerdes said the city works with CR&R each year to update the delinquency list before it is finalized. “This is our annual public hearing for delinquent trash fees,” Gerdes said. She explained that mandatory residential trash collection was implemented citywide in 1996 to comply with Assembly Bill 939, requiring California jurisdictions to reduce landfill waste through recycling…