“I feel like I just won the lottery.”

So said Judy Dinsmore after getting a refund check last week from City Hall totaling $2,898.13.

Already banked, the check was a refund of trash and recycling fees the elderly South Side resident had been erroneously charged for 12 years.

In 2007, Mrs. Dinsmore and her late husband, John H. “Johnny” Dinsmore, qualified for the city’s property tax exemp- tion on the home they owned for more than 35 years.

That program, open to renters and homeowners, eliminates trash and recycling fees, now $23.79 a month, for those who qualify.

Homeowners age 65 or older or who are permanently and totally disabled who qualify for real estate tax relief are automatically exempt from trash and recycling fees.

Elderly and disabled renters can qualify for exemption from paying the trash and recycling fees if utility services are in their name and they have an individual water meter serving their residence, the City Code states. Individuals also must have an an- nual household income of $50,000 or less and a net worth of $200,000 or less and would qualify for tax relief if they owned the property rather than renting it.

But the city did not provide the exemption from the fees to Mrs. Dinsmore, who lives on a fixed income and struggles to pay the utility bill in which those fees are included.

Richmond City Councilwoman Reva M. Trammell, 8th District, discovered during a visit with Mrs. Dinsmore that she was being charged for the fees. After hearing Mrs. Dinsmore’s complaint about the cost of utilities, Ms. Trammell said she took a look at Mrs. Dinsmore’s bill and noted it included the $20.80 monthly fee for trash pickup and the $2.99 a month fee for recycling service.

Ms. Trammell took the bill to City Hall, and the Department of Public Utilities confirmed that Mrs. Dinsmore should have been exempt from the payments.

The promised refund took about two weeks, Ms. Trammell said.

“This is going to really help,” Mrs. Din- smore said. “Last winter, I was only able to afford to run the heat for four hours each night. This year, I’ll probably be able to keep the heat on for eight hours a night.”