Sierra Madre : Hearing on Trash Bill Hike
To help cover the costs of settling a lawsuit over a defunct Monterey Park landfill, the city has proposed increasing trash collection bills by $10 for each of the next three years.
A public hearing will be held Feb. 9 on the proposal, which stems from litigation over extensive pollution at the former Operating Industries Inc. dump.
A coalition of major U.S. companies--which were blamed by federal officials for contributing to the pollution--in 1990 sued more than two dozen Los Angeles County municipalities, claiming the cities had contributed to the contamination by carrying trash there.
Sierra Madre was among a group of those cities that eventually decided to settle out of court.
The city has spent $160,000 in attorneys’ fees to settle the case. Total costs are expected to approach $700,000.
The increase in trash bills is aimed at recouping these expenses.
The hearing will be at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall, 232 W. Sierra Madre Blvd.
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