Port St. Lucie city officials are working to determine how to allocate the $24 million settlement the city received from its former waste hauler, Waste Pro. City council will address the matter on Monday as it weighs options for distributing funds that resulted from years of service failures during the pandemic. The settlement came after both the city and the company filed lawsuits against each other in 2021. Waste Pro attributed collection problems to labor shortages, while Port St. Lucie argued the company failed to meet contract standards for service quality.
Residents who suffered through the trash collection issues are watching closely as leaders consider their options. Neighbor Kelly Lee, who attended Monday's meeting, witnessed firsthand the problems her neighbors faced. "It would just be a stinky mess on their yard," Lee said. "They didn't pick up, and it's overflowing." Mayor Shannon Martin has indicated her commitment to returning the settlement funds directly to residents. "I'm committed to making sure that our residents get paid back for what they had to deal with during that time," Martin said in April following the settlement announcement.
The distribution of funds raises complicated questions about fairness and eligibility. Some residents who experienced the service failures have since moved away from Port St. Lucie, while new residents arrived after the problems ended. Lee raised these concerns about how former residents should be handled. "People have moved, the residents are no longer here, some of them are brand new residents that didn't pay into waste pro," Lee said. She also questioned where former residents would receive their share if the city decided to distribute payments.
City staff have been preparing recommendations for the council by collecting data and developing different distribution scenarios, according to Scott Samples with the city. "There's a lot of people that have been working on this," Samples said. "Ultimately the goal is to make the best decision possible, help remediate some of those issues, and those nightmares that people have from back then." Residents like Lee hope the process will include community input. "Have us weigh in on something to at least feel part of the process," Lee said. "One size can't fit all."