Multi-family residents in some Suter Brook and Newport Village buildings will be getting a credit on next year's recycling bill after staff discovered they were being charged for - but not receiving - pick-up services for the past three years.
The mistake came to light during city staff's solid waste services audit, and was found to stem from an error in rewording the solid waste bylaw in late 2010.
Eleven buildings have been incorrectly billed since 2011 at a total cost of nearly $133,000. A 12th building, in Suter Brook, that was recently completed has also signed on to a private collection service, bringing the total for the years 2011 through 2013 to $211,727.
Port Moody introduced its in-house solid waste collection program in July 2009, at which point the bylaw required all single- and multi-family dwellings to use the city recycling service.
In November 2010, council amended the bylaw to include green waste collection, with the intent that all residential properties under the city garbage program would also comply with the green waste addition, but the section requiring mandatory recycling participation was inadvertently dropped.
The mistake meant only those residences receiving city garbage collection had to participate in the recycling and green waste programs, according to a staff report presented to council Tuesday.
"Financial services continued to bill multi-family recycling services as per past practice in accordance with the original bylaw wording," the report stated.
Council approved first three readings of solid waste bylaw amendments that will bring it back in line with the original intent. And, in the future, staff will inform strata councils of each multi-family building at the time an occupancy permit is granted of the requirement to use city recycling services.
The 12 buildings that have contracted private firms for trash removal will be exempt from the bylaw changes until their current agreements expire.
Staff will apply the retroactive adjustment of $211,727 to the affected residents' 2014 utility bills, money that will come from the sanitation reserve.
Mayor Mike Clay expressed concern over the challenges in servicing some multi-family buildings, noting some "private companies are undercutting us for their services... I don't know where they're taking their recyclables, but I believe they're taking them for landfill to the U.S.," adding there are logistical challenges to accessing the garbage and recycling bins stored in the underground parkades of some buildings.
Staff said a building caretaker may have to bring the bins up to the street or a city garbage collector may have to go down and get them, but those issues would be addressed on a case-by-case basis.
