MONROE - The City of Monroe wants more information from the county landfill transfer station to make a decision on its future with the facility.
Any decision made by the city, as the major user of the transfer station, will affect the partners of the facility. And that "puts us in a position of being the bad guy," City Administrator Phil Rath said Monday at a meeting of the Board of Public Works.
After Veolia Environmental Services, a private trash collection service, stopped using the county transfer station in December, the facility lost about 70 percent of its business - a loss that could force the facility to shut down, according the members of the county landfill committee.
Rath met with the committee's chairman, Nate Klassy, Friday, and has plans to meet with the committee and County Clerk Mike Doyle in the near future to discuss the problem and to request some specific numbers for Board of Public Works members.
Partner agreements with the facility are due to expire in the spring. Rath said unless the city alerts the county that it has made another decision by October, the contract will automatically renew in April for another five years.
The county landfill committee is planning to meet with independent, private trash collection companies to investigate their desire to use the facility.
Whether the facility can accept refuge from outside the county depends on the landfill's by-laws, which county officials are investigating before the committee's next meeting Monday, Feb. 27.
An increase in usage from vendors outside the county could raise more revenue in tipping fees for the facility. But Rath said he has concerns about the increased volume adding more wear and tear on the facility and its equipment, resulting in replacement costs coming sooner than expected.
"Our monthly bill could go down, but the big ticket items would come more frequently," he said.
Tipping fees are paid by all users of the facility, including the partner municipalities. But expenses to operate the facility, not covered by the revenues, are costs shared by the partners based on their percent of usage.
The City of Monroe is responsible for more than half of those costs, based on its past usage. The City of Brodhead is charged about 12 percent; the Village of New Glarus gets about 10 percent of the costs; and the Town of Decatur, more than 3 percent. The 10 other partner municipalities are charged less than 3 percent.
Monroe and Monticello collect and haul their own waste and use the county's transfer station. Other communities hire outside vendors for the services; some, but not all, require their trash to be taken to the county station.
Rath is concerned with not only the structure of the billing procedure, but also the city not having adequate representation on the county landfill committee nor a say in its decisions.
"I don't have an issue with the station if it's for the good of the county," he said. "But I want us to have some proper representation in the decisions made."
Seeing the loss of the facility as a county-wide problem, Rath suggested the city could ask the county for a referendum on the future restructuring of the facility, "to see what the taxpayers want to do."
"There is marketability for this transfer station," given the interest of outside vendors wanting to use it, Rath added.
Board member Michael Boyce said the city has not received a breakdown of the facility's expenses, and Rath added that he has not received any records of the equity municipalities have invested in the facility.
Alderman Jan Lefevre said she has taken a tour of the county transfer station facility and encouraged other council members to do the same.
"If the county transfer station closes, you're going to start seeing people scrambling to find somewhere to take their trash. There will be a trickle-down effect whatever we do," she said.
Board member Charles Koch noted that the city was still in the early stages of gathering information, and still had time to consider possibilities and to reach a "good common solution" for every partner in the facility.
"I think it can be done," he said.
In the meantime, the city will be conducting a study to determine the costs of privatizing its trash collection compared to keeping it as a city-run service. The cost of switching to more efficient garbage trucks with loading arms and specialized trash carts will be included in the study. A recommendation to the board is expected to come in May.
Any decision made by the city, as the major user of the transfer station, will affect the partners of the facility. And that "puts us in a position of being the bad guy," City Administrator Phil Rath said Monday at a meeting of the Board of Public Works.
After Veolia Environmental Services, a private trash collection service, stopped using the county transfer station in December, the facility lost about 70 percent of its business - a loss that could force the facility to shut down, according the members of the county landfill committee.
Rath met with the committee's chairman, Nate Klassy, Friday, and has plans to meet with the committee and County Clerk Mike Doyle in the near future to discuss the problem and to request some specific numbers for Board of Public Works members.
Partner agreements with the facility are due to expire in the spring. Rath said unless the city alerts the county that it has made another decision by October, the contract will automatically renew in April for another five years.
The county landfill committee is planning to meet with independent, private trash collection companies to investigate their desire to use the facility.
Whether the facility can accept refuge from outside the county depends on the landfill's by-laws, which county officials are investigating before the committee's next meeting Monday, Feb. 27.
An increase in usage from vendors outside the county could raise more revenue in tipping fees for the facility. But Rath said he has concerns about the increased volume adding more wear and tear on the facility and its equipment, resulting in replacement costs coming sooner than expected.
"Our monthly bill could go down, but the big ticket items would come more frequently," he said.
Tipping fees are paid by all users of the facility, including the partner municipalities. But expenses to operate the facility, not covered by the revenues, are costs shared by the partners based on their percent of usage.
The City of Monroe is responsible for more than half of those costs, based on its past usage. The City of Brodhead is charged about 12 percent; the Village of New Glarus gets about 10 percent of the costs; and the Town of Decatur, more than 3 percent. The 10 other partner municipalities are charged less than 3 percent.
Monroe and Monticello collect and haul their own waste and use the county's transfer station. Other communities hire outside vendors for the services; some, but not all, require their trash to be taken to the county station.
Rath is concerned with not only the structure of the billing procedure, but also the city not having adequate representation on the county landfill committee nor a say in its decisions.
"I don't have an issue with the station if it's for the good of the county," he said. "But I want us to have some proper representation in the decisions made."
Seeing the loss of the facility as a county-wide problem, Rath suggested the city could ask the county for a referendum on the future restructuring of the facility, "to see what the taxpayers want to do."
"There is marketability for this transfer station," given the interest of outside vendors wanting to use it, Rath added.
Board member Michael Boyce said the city has not received a breakdown of the facility's expenses, and Rath added that he has not received any records of the equity municipalities have invested in the facility.
Alderman Jan Lefevre said she has taken a tour of the county transfer station facility and encouraged other council members to do the same.
"If the county transfer station closes, you're going to start seeing people scrambling to find somewhere to take their trash. There will be a trickle-down effect whatever we do," she said.
Board member Charles Koch noted that the city was still in the early stages of gathering information, and still had time to consider possibilities and to reach a "good common solution" for every partner in the facility.
"I think it can be done," he said.
In the meantime, the city will be conducting a study to determine the costs of privatizing its trash collection compared to keeping it as a city-run service. The cost of switching to more efficient garbage trucks with loading arms and specialized trash carts will be included in the study. A recommendation to the board is expected to come in May.