The notice came late Tuesday afternoon, and it was the perfect representation of so much of what is wrong with the Southeastern Public Service Authority.

The troubled regional solid waste authority had been set to hold a public hearing and then a vote on Wednesday on whether to approve a proposed increase in the cost of trash disposal for its eight member governments. The controversial plan would put SPSA at a level of its own in regards to trash fees.

Its proposed $245-per-ton tipping fee would be the highest in the nation, but staff members, board members, SPSA attorneys and others affiliated with the organization have been making a very public case that the increase — from the current level of $104 per ton — is the only thing that can save the authority.

With SPSA almost $240 million in debt — and with that number growing daily — Executive Director Bucky Taylor warned communities in an e-mail last week that postponing Wednesday’s vote would put the agency at risk of running short of money to make debt payments, potentially forcing administrators to close SPSA’s doors.

With so much at stake, it’s well nigh unforgivable that administrators were forced to cancel Wednesday’s public hearing less than 24 hours before its scheduled commencement. As it turned out, adequate notice had not been given of the meeting, and therefore any decisions likely would not have been legal.

How perfectly appropriate: A mismanaged public notice of a meeting whose purpose was to save an agency that suffers from endemic financial mismanagement. It would almost be funny if there weren’t so much at stake for area residents.