Nearly 1,200 South Tucson residential households are being notified that their garbage β and their trash cans β will be picked for the last time early next month.
Private hauler Waste Management is trying to sever ties with the municipality following a long-running dispute over unpaid bills.
A Pima County Superior Court judge will be asked to decide Monday whether to block Waste Managementβs effort to discontinue residential trash pickup as well as repossess its property, including curbside trash cans.
Commercial trash collection in the 1.2-square mile city would be unaffected because private businesses have individual contracts for garbage and recycling pickup.
State law requires cities to provide residential garbage collection. South Tucson officials say they are working on a plan if Waste Management is allowed to drop the city.
But its plan would require approval from both the Tucson and South Tucson city councils.
It would be difficult for South Tucson to immediately take over the service, said Edward Matchett, an attorney representing the city in the court fight.
For example, he said, South Tucson does not own a fleet of garbage trucks and that under state law it could take months to find a new contractor.
Waste Management has spent nearly 2 Ζ years working with South Tucson to find a solution to paying off the debt, said Isha Cogborn, a company spokeswoman.
βIn the end, with everything weβve tried to do to resolve it, we were never able to reach a solution,β Cogborn said.
She refused to discuss details about South Tucsonβs debt. However, recently filed court papers say the unpaid amount is more than $300,000.
The contract between South Tucson and Waste Management dates to August 2011.
South Tucson interim City Manager Veronica Moreno is confident that even if their legal strategy fails next week, trash will not start piling up on street corners.
She said they are working with the counterparts at the city of Tucson on a temporary plan for residential garbage pickup next month.
Tucson City Manager Michael Ortega confirmed his staff recently met with South Tucson officials, but he said there is no specific proposal and any plan needs to be approved by the City Council.
Options discussed include having Tucson pick up residential and some commercial trash, or selling South Tucson two surplus trucks as well as trash containers.
However, Ortega added that Tucson taxpayers should not have to foot the bill for South Tucsonβs garbage fight.
βUltimately, my recommendation is that the ratepayers of Tucson are not subsidizing the city of South Tucsonβs efforts, if you will,β Ortega said.
South Tucson has long struggled with unpaid bills, particularly with Pima County over debt associated with the jail.
County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry said in 2013 he had been working with South Tucson on the jail debt issues since the late 1990s.
Nearly two years ago, the county and South Tucson officials struck a long-term deal to pay off the cityβs $1.9 million in delinquent jail fees and interest.
The agreement called for the county to write down the amount the city owes to $1.1 million, with South Tucson giving the county a $150,000 down payment and then paying off the rest over the next decade.
