Garbage bills prove very costly

Maria Espinoza's family "volunteered" to take over her brother's home on Gold Leaf Way in Olivehurst a few years ago after he was incarcerated and her sister-in-law died.

"I didn't know anything about renting," Espinoza said Tuesday. "You learn, and you learn the bad way."

The "bad way" was not having a stipulation in the rental agreement holding the renter responsible for paying for garbage service.

Espinoza had to pay a $1,000 Yuba-Sutter Disposal Inc. garbage bill because the tenant refused to after moving out in February.

Yuba County supervisors had a public hearing Tuesday on delinquent garbage accounts. If unpaid, the bills could be placed as a lien on the property.

"It's amazing," Supervisor Hal Stocker said in disbelief. "There's over 500 names on this list."

Some people owed as little as $25. Some owed nearly $10,000, and that's just for Linda and Olivehurst.

Residents with delinquent accounts were sent two pre-lien letters to notify them of charges, according to YSDI.

"I wonder if this is the usual situation," said Stocker, referring to how many other residents owe YSDI money.

The liens are not the type that the county can use to take a person's home, but they will be added to the property taxes along with a $25 processing fee if the payments are not made by the end of the month, said YSDI General Manager Doug Sloan.

Espinoza told supervisors that YSDI never told her the tenant wasn't paying the bill and didn't realize she was supposed to pay it until recently.

"But it was a little too late," she said.

A YSDI representative told the board that property owners are sent notices quarterly if payments are not being made, but Espinoza insisted she was never notified.

For more information on paying delinquent accounts, call YSDI at 743-6933 between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

Appeal-Democrat reporter Daniel Witter can be reached at 749-4712. You may e-mail him at dwitter@appeal-democrat.com.