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Council offers three-year refund option to resident disputing garbage-can charges
Summary
Tink Holyoke told council his utility bill shows charges for four garbage cans dating back (per account memo) to 2015; staff said their billing records go back three years and offered a three-year refund (approx. $576). Council asked the resident to provide older statements if he wants a refund beyond three years.
Resident Tink Holyoke appeared Nov. 19 to ask the council to waive or refund a portion of his solid-waste bill after discovering his account appeared to have been charged for four garbage cans for many years despite his saying he only has two.
Holyoke told council he believed he had been charged for four cans since 2015 and that the amount over time was not the primary issue but the principle of being charged incorrectly. City staff explained their utility-billing system retains detailed invoices for three years; however a permanent note in his account references '4 cans' dated 2015. Staff offered to refund three years’ worth of the overcharge based on available records (approximately $576). Council members encouraged Mr. Holyoke to search his own records for older statements if he seeks a refund beyond the three-year accounting window; staff said they would revisit a larger refund if he provides substantiating invoices.
What happens next: The item was placed on the action agenda for follow-up. Staff will carry forward the offered three-year refund and will re-open review if the resident provides older bills showing charges dating further back.
