Wheelabrator’s Bridgeport plant turns about 2,250 tons a day of residential and business waste from more than 20 nearby communities into as much as 67 megawatts of electric power. In long-running litigation, the company is accusing Bridgeport officials of trying to turn Wheelabrator’s trash into the city’s treasure.
Specifically, the plant says Bridgeport has inflated its property valuation, and, therefore, its taxes, in order to fill gaps in the city’s budget. Now the state Supreme Court, in an opinion authored by Justice Peter Zarella, has ordered a new trial on the valuation dispute. Zarella’s decision does not seem to bode well for Bridgeport, as it states that “on remand, the trial court may properly consider evidence that the city engaged in wrongdoing for purpose of determining whether Wheelabrator is entitled to interest on overpayments to the city.”
