BRODHEAD - Green County Solid Waste Management Board members voted to hire an attorney separate from Corporation Counsel Brian Bucholtz in order to finalize user contracts drafts after Board Chairman Richard Vogel and Green County Landfill Manager Randy Thompson said Bucholtz refused.
The pair said during a board meeting at the landfill office Thursday that Bucholtz would not draft a contract until each municipality that is a member of the transfer station agreed to sign. Otherwise, it would be a waste of time, Bucholtz told them.
Thompson disagreed.
"I'm not going to get them to agree to something they haven't seen," Thompson said of explaining new contracts to uncertain municipal representatives.
Membership allows a city and its residents to utilize the transfer station, which then transports the refuse to the Janesville landfill, for $40 per ton. Non-members pay $65 per ton.
Updated user contracts would change the way in which the transfer station covers either a loss or gain, moving from a monthly membership bill that fluctuated based on the facility's financial status to 12-month cycles. The user fees would be issued in conjunction with either a loss or a revenue.
"At the end of the year, if there's a loss, we can take some money out of the bank rather than depend on our members to cover it," Vogel said. "If there's a surplus, instead of giving everybody a bank for the month, we can keep some money in the bank."
The change from a monthly fee to an annual one has been an effort to accommodate annual budgets. Monthly costs were a particular sticking point with the city of Monroe and impacted City Administrator Phil Rath's advisement to the city to withdraw membership.
A contract between the city and the transfer station was terminated in January 2015 after three years of discussion. Negotiations continued after the breakup until August 2015, when Monroe Common Council decided to transport municipal trash directly to the landfill in Janesville.
Within the last year, Monroe has been contemplating future plans for garbage transportation.
Director of Public Works Al Gerber said current equipment will likely only last through 2019 at a council meeting on June 20. During the meeting, Rath also indicated that returning to membership with the transfer station would be difficult because yearly billing based on percentage of use makes budgeting for membership "impossible to judge."
Though Vogel expressed hope that the change in contract could reignite a partnership between Monroe and the transfer center.
"These changes address a lot of the issues Phil (Rath) had in Monroe," Vogel said Thursday. "He doesn't want Monroe here, I can accept the reality in that. My biggest fear is we go back to a year like 2011. If we've got months where we're losing, Brodhead can't support that."
Supervisor Harvey Mandel moved that the board hire a separate attorney to draft the updated contract and suggested the possible use of Monroe-based Voegeli, Ewald and Bartholf Law Offices because of attorney Dan Bartholf's experience with municipal law. Vogel said they would be considered. Mandel added that the change should be done "because the year will be over before we know it."
The pair said during a board meeting at the landfill office Thursday that Bucholtz would not draft a contract until each municipality that is a member of the transfer station agreed to sign. Otherwise, it would be a waste of time, Bucholtz told them.
Thompson disagreed.
"I'm not going to get them to agree to something they haven't seen," Thompson said of explaining new contracts to uncertain municipal representatives.
Membership allows a city and its residents to utilize the transfer station, which then transports the refuse to the Janesville landfill, for $40 per ton. Non-members pay $65 per ton.
Updated user contracts would change the way in which the transfer station covers either a loss or gain, moving from a monthly membership bill that fluctuated based on the facility's financial status to 12-month cycles. The user fees would be issued in conjunction with either a loss or a revenue.
"At the end of the year, if there's a loss, we can take some money out of the bank rather than depend on our members to cover it," Vogel said. "If there's a surplus, instead of giving everybody a bank for the month, we can keep some money in the bank."
The change from a monthly fee to an annual one has been an effort to accommodate annual budgets. Monthly costs were a particular sticking point with the city of Monroe and impacted City Administrator Phil Rath's advisement to the city to withdraw membership.
A contract between the city and the transfer station was terminated in January 2015 after three years of discussion. Negotiations continued after the breakup until August 2015, when Monroe Common Council decided to transport municipal trash directly to the landfill in Janesville.
Within the last year, Monroe has been contemplating future plans for garbage transportation.
Director of Public Works Al Gerber said current equipment will likely only last through 2019 at a council meeting on June 20. During the meeting, Rath also indicated that returning to membership with the transfer station would be difficult because yearly billing based on percentage of use makes budgeting for membership "impossible to judge."
Though Vogel expressed hope that the change in contract could reignite a partnership between Monroe and the transfer center.
"These changes address a lot of the issues Phil (Rath) had in Monroe," Vogel said Thursday. "He doesn't want Monroe here, I can accept the reality in that. My biggest fear is we go back to a year like 2011. If we've got months where we're losing, Brodhead can't support that."
Supervisor Harvey Mandel moved that the board hire a separate attorney to draft the updated contract and suggested the possible use of Monroe-based Voegeli, Ewald and Bartholf Law Offices because of attorney Dan Bartholf's experience with municipal law. Vogel said they would be considered. Mandel added that the change should be done "because the year will be over before we know it."