Franklin County looking to boost landfill revenue

Local News

ABOUT THE LANDFILL

The Franklin County Regional Landfill is situated in the towns of Westville and Constable and is able to accept up to 125,000 tons of trash per year.

Tonnage figures were down in 2011, but there was a small surplus of $58,113 in cash by the end of the year.

The landfill was at about 78 percent of capacity in June, and there is room for about 350,000 tons of trash. That means there about 4¼ years left in the landfill's life if the annual-intake rate remains at about 80,000 tons.

Tip fees are $85 a ton at the three transfer stations and $70 a ton at the landfill site.

In 2011, the landfill took in 33,345 tons of trash generated inside Franklin County and 17,034 tons from elsewhere.

A new agreement was reached in 2011 with the landfill's two host communities. The towns are paid 50 cents a ton for municipal solid waste for the first 50,000 tons and then on a graduated scale with the maximum of $1.50 a ton on volumes greater than 150,000 tons per year.

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December 5, 2011

DENISE A. RAYMO Press-Republican The Press Republican Mon Dec 05, 2011, 02:28 AM EST

MALONE — The Franklin County Solid Waste Management Authority is looking to import more trash in 2012 to cover its debt payments and fund cell closures.

Both issues were cited in the annual independent audit of the agency's finances by Seyfarth and Seyfarth CPAs, which found four deficiencies in the 2011 landfill operations.

The facility was about $58,000 in the black last year, according to the audit.

Two deficiencies are new issues, and two have been mentioned in previous audits but not yet corrected, according to the report.

'OBLIGATIONS MET'

The audit states that the debt-payment deposits were not being made as required by the authority's bonding agreement, and trash-cell-closure accounts were not being properly funded as agreed upon.

In response, Landfill Executive Director George Eades responded that "management was dealing with a difficult cash-flow situation which required careful cash management to ensure current requirements were met and to ensure fully bonded projects.

"All obligations were met by year's end," he said.

He added that the cash-flow problem will be turned around by "increased revenue from new external sources of municipal-solid waste."

"We hope to finalize new sources by the first half of 2012," Eades said in response.

LARGER FOOTPRINT

Board Chairman Henry Travers said the costs to operate the landfill have grown, and added tonnage should help meet the authority's obligations.

"As far as bringing in trash, it will probably be from wherever we can get it," he said. "We're doing it so we can keep our head above the table in a reasonable way to fund our expenses and expansion project."

The authority is pursuing permission from the State Department of Environmental Conservation to expand its footprint and provide landfill space for the next 100 years.

As far as the audit finding of deficiencies in cell closure, Travers said it cost the agency about $1 million to close Cell 2, which was more expensive than planned.

That strained the authority's cash flow.

"And that money has to be made up to use for the expenses to see if expansion is plausible," Travers said.

'JUST STRICT'

The authority has to go through the required DEC procedures if it is going to add on to its current operations, and that can be expensive, too.

"What bothers me the most is that, after all the research is done to open a cell, it takes a lot of time for the approval — up to five years," he said.

That puts more pressure on the authority because the life expectancy of the existing landfill is up in 2016, he said.

But even if the expected approval does not come before the facility reaches capacity, the state would work with the authority to continue to accept trash.

"The DEC is not cold. They're just strict," Travers said.

SERVICE FEES

The previously found deficiencies cited in the audit include the lack of segregation of duties for staff handling cash receipts, and the way service fees are paid to Franklin County could lead to the agency overpaying its obligation, the audit found.

Segregation of duties is due to the landfill's small office staff, but Eades said the authority has taken steps to ensure more board members check the paperwork and sign off on items properly.

Travers said he is authorized to sign documents, as is Treasurer Greg Paye, and that Jill Wood, the secretary and vice treasurer, prepares the paperwork.

The fourth issue involves the timing when the authority pays Franklin County its monthly service fees, which are tied to tip fees.

Eades wrote that he is aware of the poor timing and that he's awaiting direction from the board on how best to correct it.

Email Denise A. Raymo at: draymo@pressrepublican.com