San Diego launched Thursday a long-waited subsidy program for property owners struggling to pay the city’s new trash fee, which ranges from $32.82 per month to $43.60 per month depending on the level of service. The city began accepting online applications Thursday and will award either full subsi dies or 50% subsidies to an estimated 7,000 trash customers on a first-come, first-served basis. The website is Maacproject.org/SDSWAssistance/ To be eligible, applicants must own their property and live in it as their primary residence. Also, total household income must be less than 60% of the state’s area median income, or at least one person in the household must be enrolled in CalWORKs, Medi-Cal, CalFresh or the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. Monthly income limits in 2026 are $3,331 for a one-person household, $4,356 for a two-person household, $5,382 for a three-person household, $6,407 for a four-person household and $7,432 for a five-person household. Most people receiving a subsidy will get 50% off. But property owners who are on a payment plan with the county for their property taxes — meaning they have missed at least one payment — could get a 100% subsidy if they meet the other criteria. Jeremy Bauer, assistant director of the city’s Environmental Services Department, said last fall that city officials don’t want anyone to lose their home because of a trash bill. Money for the subsidies includes $3 million the city set aside last spring in its annual budget and $60,000 in donations. The city provided the $3 million because the trash fee is new. The fee traces back to Measure B, a city ballot measure passed in 2022 that ended the decades-long practice of San Diego providing free trash service to single-family homes and many small townhome and apartment complexes. Those properties now pay monthly fees of $32.82 if they use 35-gallon trash bins, $38.94 if they use 65-gallon trash bins and $43.60 if they use 95-gallon trash bins. But while the fees are charged on a monthly basis, they are actually paid twice a year on property tax bills in December and April. The 50% subsidy will be $261.60, half the $523.20 per year a property owner plays if they use 95-gallon bins. If the property owner also has delinquent property tax bills, the subsidy will be the entire $523.20. Customers who get the subsidy will get an immediate revision to their property tax bill. The city can get revised bills sent at a charge from the county of $15 per bill. Customers can apply for assistance whether or not they have already paid part or all of this year’s fee, the city said in a Thursday news release. The fee will be administered by the Metropolitan Area Advisory Committee on Anti-Poverty of San Diego County, Inc. “Supported by city leaders, strengthened by customer donations, and administered by a nonprofit with deep local knowledge, the program is designed to provide meaningful assistance while reaching as many qualifying households as possible,” Bauer said. Applications will be taken through April as funding remains available. After that, applications will be considered for trash fees that will first appear on fall 2026 property tax bills. The city will offer in-person assistance at community locations citywide, including from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Logan Heights Library, 567 S. 28th St., and during the same hours on Feb. 4 at the San Ysidro Library, 4235 Beyer Boulevard. For more information, visit MAACproject.org/SDSWAssistance or call (619) 946-4419. ...read more read less