FLOYD COUNTY — The Floyd County Commissioners are moving forward with the dissolution of the Recycle Floyd County program, but the decision has not yet been finalized.
The commissioners voted unanimously at Tuesday’s meeting in favor of an ordinance dissolving the Floyd County Solid Waste Management District, which handles recycling, yard waste and household hazardous waste.
The Floyd County Commissioners cited financial concerns related to the state’s new tax reform law as a reason for ending the program. The decision followed a discussion at Tuesday’s Floyd County Solid Waste Board of Directors meeting about the future of the program.
The issue will also go before the Floyd County Council for approval. After receiving council approval, there would be a 181-day period before a public hearing on the ordinance and the commissioners make a final decision.
Officials discussed potential options such as contracting with a private provider.
After Tuesday’s vote, Recycle Floyd County Director David Massengill said he is “very disappointed” that the commissioners are seeking to end the program.
“It’s very important to our community,” he said. “We see that with the 50,000 to 60,000 visits that we get per year. I wish they would recognize that. I really don’t think they’re going to find a private service that provides what we provide at a cost-effective method.”
The district offers recycling drop-off sites at the North Annex at 3005 Grant Line Road in New Albany and the Galena Digital Library at 6954 U.S. 150 in Floyds Knobs.
At the solid waste meeting, many residents spoke out against cutting the district, sharing their stories of using the recycling program.
The solid waste board and commissioners approved a hiring freeze for Recycle Floyd County in April due to financial uncertainty.
Floyd County Commissioner Jason Sharp, who is also the president of the solid waste board, said the recent state legislation will have “real impacts to every one of our communities,” and they will have to consider these types of cuts.
“They’re all getting ready to take a significant decrease in the amount of funding that they have to provide services,” he said. “I’ve been very clear over the past couple of months that my job is to make sure that the services that we’re statutorily responsible for providing are strong and solid, and that’s going to be our No. 1 priority.”
He said there are still many questions about what the exact financial impact will be on the county.
Al Knable, president of the Floyd County Commissioners, said the county is no longer statutorily required to provide the solid waste district.
According to Knable, the county will likely need to replace snow plows over the next decade, and the commissioners are looking to use the savings from cutting the recycling program to help offset those costs, he said.
He said if recycling is deemed an essential government service in Floyd County, outsourcing “would be a much more economical way of providing for that,” and it could cut costs by about half.
He said at the “bare minimum,” the county needs to find a way for residents to drop off hazardous waste materials.
Floyd County Councilwoman Denise Konkle said she does not understand why the county would remove the district, and she emphasized that the county has funds available to keep the program going.
“We can do it without using taxpayer dollars if we want to do that,” she said. “We have riverboat money sitting there right now of $750,000 that is unappropriated for this year and up to $1 million next year,” she said.
She also questioned whether there will be another plan in place for recycling. She said ending the program sends the “wrong message to our county [and] to our kids.”
Knable said the county could consider using riverboat funds for a year or two, but he does not see it as a long-term option.
“And I don’t think anyone in this room can tell us what’s going to happen with the projected cuts in revenue from the property taxes,” he said. “Even the Department of Local Government Finance tells us that we can’t count on anything until, quote on quote, it happens, and that’s no way to do business.”
New Albany City Council President Adam Dickey, who sits on the county’s solid waste board, said the city’s curbside recycling program will “continue regardless of any changes necessitated with the solid waste program.”
“Where city residents typically receive a value from solid waste is from those hazardous materials — it’s with the electronics — because there isn’t a similar component to our recycling program,” he said.
He said he shares the frustration with the recent legislation, saying it has created a “series of local problems.”
However, he would prefer to develop a specific plan before moving to completely eliminate the program, saying it seems like the county is “moving to a final decision before we’ve had a chance to really do some evaluation and look at some options.”
“Perhaps we don’t want to use riverboat money that the county receives...as a continuing source, but perhaps that would give us a period of time over the next year to decide what direction is the best and what option we have and come up with that plan,” Dickey said.
PUBLIC CONCERNS
New Albany resident Sarah Johnson said she recycles due to the environmental benefits.
“I’m very passionate about our planet because I feel the love given back when we go [to recycle]...you feel that love in return, that you did your part,” she said. “No matter how big, how small, we did our part, and you all are doing your part by making sure we keep this program because it is a vital program.”
Georgetown resident Joseph Moore said he does not agree with the proposal to shut down the program.
“It’s been gaining more and more success, more participation,” he said. “The staff is wonderful.”
Moore said the program makes it easier for himself and other people to recycle since those working at the drop-off sites help people empty containers.
He feels that solid waste is the “low-hanging fruit” for budget cuts, and he notes the consequences it would have with more waste going to the landfill.
Georgetown resident Paige Adams questioned why the commissioners would consider cutting the recycling program.
Her family has been recycling for about 20 years, and nearly every Wednesday, she drops off “tons of material” at the Galena Digital Library.
“If this program is cut, it’s only going to hurt Hoosiers who are trying to do good for the environment,” she said.
She said it will ultimately be more costly to residents if they do not have a recycling dropoff site within the county.
“It will cost us more gas,” Adams said. “It will cost us the environment. It will mean more landfills that will have to be used in order to pick up trash and not pollute the environment.”
David Aebersold, owner of Aebersold Florist in New Albany, said his business recycles a large amount of cardboard using the county’s program, and he feels that the county’s recycling program is a “great idea.”
“I’m curious where in the world is all this cardboard going to go next,” he said.
New Albany resident Dave Isaacs said the county needs to consider the effects in the long term of cutting the recycling program.
“I would say a better idea would be, if all else fails, to cut it back a little bit and hopefully get it back up in the future,” he said. “I think if we cut the program, it’s awfully hard to get it started [again].”
Massengill would prefer the program to be reduced rather than cut entirely, although cutbacks would still present challenges.
“I mean, we could maybe cut a day or two, but even with that, we rely on what the community brings to us, especially with cardboard, because that’s part of our revenue,” he said. “It’s kind of a double-edged sword. So if we shut down, then that’s a day that when we’re not receiving product, so it kind of has to roll continuously to make this work.”
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