Refuse fee lawsuit against City of Toledo - August 2008 Update

On February 28, 2008, Ciolek & Wicklund, Attorneys at Law, filed a complaint challenging the City of Toledo's refuse fee on behalf of Karen Shanahan and similarly situated property owners in Toledo.

In effect, the very character and nature of the refuse fee amounts to a property tax. Furthermore, the refuse fee was created by administrative fiat. And, at no point was it approved by City Council or the voters of the City of Toledo. Viewed broadly, the purpose of this case is to establish that the City of Toledo has taxed the property owners outside of its own limitations. Moreover, the City of Toledo has taxed the property owners outside of the limitations set forth in Ohio's Constitution and the statutes of the State of Ohio. To that end, this case will affect the rights of all current and future property owners in the City of Toledo.

Ironically, the City calls it a "refuse fee," when in fact it has little-to-nothing to do with refuse. The City uses the water bill as a vehicle to collect this fee. Furthermore, this fee is set without regard to occupancy or to refuse created or to refuse collected or to any other issue related to refuse.

Importantly, this $5.50 fee is arbitrary, and if it is unchallenged it may be increased by the Director of Public Services at any time to any amount for any reason. Beyond this, the money taken from the property owners under this fee is not applied directly to refuse related services, rather it is deposited into the City's General Fund and spent at the will of the Mayor with limited restrictions.

Went to court on the [Aug] 15th as the Court was to decide whether the case qualified as a class action suit. The opposing attorneys can question whether my attorneys have enough experience to represent a class action suit and rather than run the risk of a decision on behalf of the opposing counsel, my attorneys brought in another attorney to join the team representing all of the residents of Toledo in the lawsuit.

I mentioned we had heard from others in the community who wanted the refuse fee reversed as they, too, believed it was wrong. If you have been "harmed" by the lawsuit, please email the attorneys and voice your view. They are interested in hearing from you. Email address to use: info@cw.law.pro.

After waiting for a short time in the court room, the attorneys were called into the Judge's chambers, the Attorney representing the City of Toledo requested a continuance for a month so they could review the credentials of the new attorney, the extension was granted. So, we wait again for a new court date.

A divided Toledo City Council yesterday adopted a 2007 budget that establishes a $5.50 monthly trash collection fee. The 7-5 vote ...