Contact 13 has been inundated with phone calls and message from people who owe hundreds and thousands of dollars to Republic Services.
Now, we are talking to a senior citizen who is surviving on social security and has a $5,000 trash bill.
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Cindy Martin is not only living on $800 a month, she is also raising her two grandchildren and looking after her brother. It's very difficult for her to make ends meet.
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Cindy told Contact 13 that failing health and hard times forced her to make some difficult decisions, including which bills to pay on time.
She fell behind on her quarterly trash bill from Republic Services and, like thousands of others in the Las Vegas valley, she found out her decision was going to cost her far more than she realized.
Martin has missed 45 quarterly payment since 2003. Her bill is now the equivalent of 30 years of trash service from Republic Services. And, she has 18 liens against her property.
Mayor Pro Tem Lois Tarkanian feels sympathy for people like Cindy Martin. Tarkanian, who represents Ward 1 on the city council, was just one of 2 council members who voted against renewing Republic Service's contract last April.
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The City of Las Vegas voted to renew the agreement early, extending the company's contract for 14 years.
Republic Services' lien practices are currently at the center of a class-action lawsuit.
The company has offered a payment plan to Cindy. They are asking her to pay $3.69 cents per month to stop the lien process. It will take her about 119 years at that rate to pay off the total amount owed.
