Dive Brief:

• Waste Management has discovered it miscalculated franchise payments to the city of Canton, Georgia, with the city's finance department in agreement.

• A decision was made by city council to reimburse the waste and recycling company for one year.

• A debate has started as to whether the city should refund $115,000, or the cost of overpaid fees the company has paid in error for three years. Council members have postponed the decision until the details can be ironed out.

Dive Insight:

According to the Cherokee Ledger-News, Councilman Bob Rush said "It would seem to me if Waste Management has told us that they overpaid for three years, we should pay them back for three years," while also mentioning the company has been good to the city. The former City Manager, Scott Wood, said that an audit should be conducted if the city is thinking about reimbursing the fees for the full three years, while the attorney for Canton will see what a statute says in regard to the fees. He added that the city may not have the capability to repay the fees in its entirety.