A billing glitch overcharged roughly 87,000 San Diego households for trash collection fees on their property tax bills, with some errors exceeding $1,000 above what's actually owed. The mistake, tied to technical issues in data sent from the city to the county, has drawn sharp criticism from council members and renewed a debate over Mayor Todd Gloria's dual role as chief operating officer, a position he took on after firing the city's previous COO.
Councilmembers Raul Campillo and Henry Foster called the error unacceptable, with Foster threatening a ballot measure to repeal the city's strong-mayor system if changes aren't made. Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera asked how refunds would be handled for residents who already paid and what the city might owe the county for reprinting and remailing corrected bills. Gloria acknowledged the error, directed the Environmental Services Department to identify affected properties and correct the data, and said the city expects all impacted accounts fixed shortly. A mayoral spokesperson pushed back on the criticism as "political theater," saying the city has already corrected the issue.
