Homeowner John Horwath has spent 29 years rolling his trash bins onto and off his Normal Heights street. While he understands why the city is preparing to begin charging the monthly fee, he voted against the change a few years ago and has “mixed feelings” about it now.

“You know, that $47.50 doesn’t seem like much, but on a fixed income, it sure is,” said Horwath, a retiree living on a fixed Social Security income. “Grocery store, where I’m headed right now, it’s going to be a hundred and a quarter. I mean, everything is just going up. So, $47.50 does mean something.”

On Friday, the San Diego County Taxpayers Association opposed the effort. Back in 2022, voters approved Measure B, which gave the city the green light to charge for trash pickup.

In 2022, voters approved a ballot measure that suggested the fee would be between $20-$30 a month for trash pickup. An updated estimated charge of $53 received ample pushback from constituents earlier this year, though, and, under pressure, the city lowered the anticipated fee by about $5, to the current $47.50.

Some residents of San Diego are now expressing concerns that they’re being asked to pay more than they expected when they cast a vote.

“It is unfair to charge residents and ratepayers additional funds if the city government isn’t able to balance its budget through its other programs,” said Garrison Ham, who sits on the taxpayers’ association board.

The city, however, maintains that the fee, which would be imposed on most single-family homeowners, is necessary to balance the budget, which faces a $258 million shortfall, and Mayor Todd Gloria’s proposed budget draft relies on the revenue the trash fee would generate.

Horwath’s neighbor, Nik Hawks, is not keen on the fee, either.

“One option is we just put our trash out on the street and make a protest, but that just sullies our own street,” Hawks said.

There is a cleaner way to protest: Per state law, homeowners who would be responsible for paying the city of San Diego’s new trash collection fee can send in a written protest, and if more than 50% of them do so, the city cannot enact the controversial change. In fact, the city this week is sending out a mailer about the program which includes a form that can be filled out to protest the fee.

In a statement, a city spokesperson said, “Residents in every other city in San Diego County pay for their trash services, as do all the City of San Diego residents who live in apartments, condos and on private streets – about half our population… What the City is proposing will free up millions of dollars in the City’s operating fund to pay for priorities like parks, libraries, police and firefighters, and road repair.”