Consumer Protection

Republic Services is once again asking the Prineville City Council to approve a rate increase for solid waste collection services. A public hearing on the request is scheduled for Tuesday, May 27, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. at City Hall, 387 NE Third Street.

The investigation into allegations against a local Prineville car salesman, Michael Smetzer Jr. and his company Central Oregon Motors, has been taken over by the FBI.

A Prineville car salesman and his business are coming under fire by a growing list victims for allegedly cheating them out of tens of thousands of dollars -- which combined might be total hundreds of thousands. Central Oregon Motors, LLC, and its owner Michael Dwayne Smetzer, are also named defendants in two lawsuits for over $1.3 million.

The owners of a Prineville company have been fined by the Oregon Construction & Contractors Board for "Advertising or bidding without a CCB license" according to records obtained by the Prineville Review.