Hold a public hearing and adopt resolution confirming the report of delinquent residential solid waste accounts. (No general fund impact) (Cormier/Juhler) (Est. Staff Presentation: 5 min)

This annual public hearing allows property owners with delinquent residential solid waste accounts with Waste Management, Inc. (WM) and Recology Davis (Recology) to address the Board of Supervisors prior to the attachment of a lien against their property.  There are 120 parcels being affected this year, which span over all five Supervisory Districts as listed in the 2025 Lien Report (Att. B). Seven are located in District 1, six in District 2, 12 in District 3, two in District 4 and 93 in District 5.

In 2024, under WM Solid Waste Franchise Agreement No. 19-248 and Recology Agreement No. 19-249, the haulers provided regular notice to these customers through bi-monthly and quarterly billing statements, respectively, alerting all customers with overdue accounts of the potential for a lien.  As shown in the 2025 Lien Process (Att. C), the procedures are extensive and involve the partnership of the County and the franchised solid waste haulers to resolve customer account issues prior to bringing this item before the Board. Even though WM and Recology initiated this process last November, payment for reimbursement of these waste collection services will not be paid out to either hauler until the 25-26 tax cycle has concluded in Spring 2026.  WM mails out invoices every other month, therefore these customers have received six prior notifications and Recology mails out invoices quarterly, so these customers have received four prior notices.  In addition, the County has initiated 180-day, 90-day and 30-day notices (Att. D) prior to the final Public Hearing Notice (Att. E) that are mailed directly to each property owner.  The final Public Notice was mailed on July 8, 2025, after the Board approved the Notice of Intent to Lien (Minute Order No. 25-54 Item No. 6). 

Many of the potential lien customers have unique circumstances, such as out-of-state vacation homes, (part-time Yolo County residents), multiple houses owned in the same family name, or farm worker housing arrangements where neither tenant nor owner wants to comply with Senate Bill (SB) 1383 required services.  Each of these situations requires DIWM staff to follow up, conduct extensive research on each parcel, perform site visits, and file exemption paperwork for the State (CalRecycle).  Over the course of the last seven months, DIWM has been available to assist any and all property owners who attempted to resolve their past due balances by May 31, 2025.  This includes helping residents set up payment plans who have experienced hardship or set up a 20% discount for those meeting low income qualification standards. The final report was run by both haulers and checked by DIWM staff in June 2025, allowing time for any last-minute payments to be received and clear the accounts.   

In November 2024, when the lien process began, there were 363 parcels on the list. Despite all the efforts listed above, there are still 120 residential parcel owners that have failed to pay for the franchised solid waste hauler services or reach out to DIWM for resolution.  Due to the extensive amount of time provided to bring the delinquent accounts into good standing (365 days), coupled with the minimum seven notifications provided by the County and the haulers, DIWM staff recommends the Board approve the three recommended actions listed above.  The Board may, pursuant to Government Code Section 25828, make revisions or corrections to the lien report as the Board deems just, after which, the lien report shall be confirmed and filed with the County Clerk Recorder.  If confirmed, the delinquent charges constitute special assessments against the respective properties and a lien will be placed on the property to collect the delinquent charges. 

County Counsel has reviewed and approved the resolution as to form.  DIWM staff internally worked with the Assessor's Office and the Department of Financial Services and externally with WM and Recology to ensure the process was followed per Solid Waste Ordinance No. 1529, Solid Waste Franchise Agreement Nos. 19-248 and 19-249 and Government Code 25828.