Landfill, jail and taxes

A full agenda for Sullivan

By FRITZ MAYER

MONTICELLO, NY — It was a busy day at the government center on April 23, as lawmakers tackled some of the most pressing issues facing Sullivan County.

First, the lawmakers took a significant step toward determining the future of the landfill in Monticello. In a clear sign that they are abandoning the phase two expansion, lawmakers voted to go into contract with a company called Cornerstone Environmental Group, LLC to advance plans for alternative action.

The county will pay Cornerstone roughly $1 million to create a plan that would greatly expand the county’s recycling efforts. Legislator Alan Sorensen, who has been a vocal critic of the landfill expansion, said he would like to see the recycling program jump from its current level of about 7.5 percent of the waste stream to about 50 percent over the next five years. Cornerstone will design an expansion of the county’s municipal resource recycling facility (MRRF) that already exists at the landfill.

Cornerstone will also design a transfer station to be built at the landfill, allowing the county the ability to enter into long-term contracts for the removal of solid waste that can’t be recycled. At the same time, the county is seeking contract proposals for long-term exportation of solid waste.

Sorensen said, “The contract with Cornerstone, while not described as such, is really the first step of going in the direction of exportation,” as opposed to the landfill expansion, which is now viewed as being too expensive to be practical.

Sorensen added, “The other thing that’s needed is a public education program to get people on board with the necessity to recycle.”

Also on the agenda was the future of the new county jail. A week before the meeting, county manager David Fanslau told The River Reporter that he would urge lawmakers to resist the mandate from Albany to move forward with an $80 million facility, which the county can ill afford at this time of recession.

But if that option is pursued, the county could face significant legal sanctions from the NYS Commission of Corrections, which could impose expensive fines, and the county might be forced to build the jail anyway. Additionally, the current jail is in serious need of repair and, according to the opinion of most lawmakers and other officials, is too dilapidated to be successfully renovated.

At the meeting, Sheriff Michael Schiff said that the employees at the jail are working in harsh conditions and deserve the new facility, which at this point is still in the design stage.

Lawmaker Frank Armstrong said that the county also could face consequences if inmates are forced to live in unsafe conditions.

County treasurer Ira Cohen said that while the county should move forward with plans for the new jail, it should investigate other options, such as the renovation and expansion of the existing 100-year old facility in Monticello.

While there was no vote on the matter, it was clear that the county will move forward with the plan for the new jail. The cost, however, will be a major concern going forward. County legislative chairman Jonathan Rouis said that if no additional revenues or funds are found to pay for the jail, it could mean a one-time increase of 20 percent to the county property tax rate. That would be a year or two away, and legislators and other officials, in the meantime, will be looking for other funding sources.

A third major item on the agenda was whether lawmakers should suspend a five-percent penalty that property owners must pay if they fall behind on their taxes. The county’s repurchase program allows for property owners to regain their property before it is sold to the high bidder at auction, even after the county takes possession for nonpayment of taxes. But, in addition to paying back taxes and interest, property owners must pay a penalty equal to five percent of the assessed value of the property.

Lawmakers had been considering getting rid of that penalty just for this year because of poor economic conditions. The developer who built the Bello Lago town houses on White Lake, for instance, paid a $100,000 penalty to reacquire that property and had the lawmakers voted for the suspension, he could have recouped that investment.

Treasurer Ira Cohen had argued against the measure, saying that it would mean a loss to the county of nearly $500,000, most of which had already been paid by property owners.

Lawmakers voted seven to two against the measure, with some expressing the view that there must be penalties for not complying with local laws.

Lawmakers Ron Hiatt and Leni Binder supported the measure.