Citywide Services Solutions, a council-owned waste and garden maintenance company with former Labor premier John Brumby and former Liberal state minister Mark Birrell on its board, failed to maintain some of its of trucks in an attempt to save money, a court heard on Friday.

But after an inspection of nine rubbish-collecting trucks at the company's Ringwood depot found defects ranging from oil leaks to braking problems, Citywide paid $380,000 having the trucks repaired, Ringwood Magistrates Court was told.

The court heard those costs formed part of an overall bill of $1 million that the company spent after inspections on its national fleet of trucks across the eastern states found other problems.

VicRoads prosecutor Scott Douglas told the court an inspection of the trucks at the Ringwood depot on May 30 found a series of major defects that made the vehicles unsafe for use on the road.

Mr Douglas said VicRoads had received intelligence earlier that month that the trucks were "not in a safe and roadworthy manner".

The trucks were used to collect rubbish across the City of Manningham, the court heard.

Documents tendered to court detail safety problems across the nine trucks including brake problems which had the potential to increase stopping distances, oil and hydraulic fluid leaks, loose shock absorbers, worn tyres and cracks in cross bars and plates on chassis.

Two trucks had lifting arms that were not attached securely, the documents show, while one truck had an air leak that had the potential to cause a "catastrophic" brake failure.

A photograph tendered to court shows rags on the axle, in an apparent attempt to stop the air leak.

Citywide pleaded guilty to nine charges of permitting a heavy vehicle that was unsafe to be used on the road.

Defence counsel Rob O'Neill said the trucks were not maintained correctly through the combination of a poor repair supplier and a Citywide worker who chose not to have the vehicles serviced to standard.

"He thought it would be seen to be doing a good job by saving money on maintenance," Mr O'Neill said.

Magistrate Tim Bourke replied: "This isn't an area where you would want to be saving money at all."

Mr O'Neill said the trucks were grounded while they were repaired. He said Citywide spent $380,000 on repairs to the nine unsafe trucks and eight other trucks at the depot, which formed a $1 million bill nationally.

Mr Bourke described as "the saving grace" that no Citywide trucks were involved in a road crash, as it was imperative trucking companies ensured their fleets were maintained, for the safety of all road users.

He imposed an $8000 fine with conviction. Citywide had faced a potential penalty of $54,000 for the nine charges.

The court heard the company had cooperated with authorities and now had its trucks inspected daily.

Outside court, Citywide managing director Kerry Osbourne confirmed a staff member had been sacked following an internal investigation.